Category: Uncategorized Page 1 of 12

Weekly Wesley: Twenty

On August 18, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

20weeks

Twenty weeks. Long enough to be halfway through a pregnancy.

Or if it’s Wesley a week and two days short of halfway. Ahem.

In a pregnancy we’d be doing the anatomy scan this week and finding out if the baby has all the proper parts.

We cheated a bit and found out Wesley’s gender at 16 weeks but we of course did the normal anatomy scan to be safe. Here is Wesley in profile at 20 weeks in utero…

20weeksProfileSplit

and out.

Wesley is still going through a leap or something. When he’s happy he’s the happiest baby you ever saw. But we play the happy baby/mad baby game on a way too frequent basis lately. It’s kind of exhausting.

One thing he really likes thankfully is being wrapped.

packing

We’re packing, packing, packing (ugh, do I hate moving) so it’s very convenient that he enjoys being worn or I’d never get anything done. Two weeks from today we will be settling into our new place. I’m so ready for it to be over.

Other milestones:

Wesley found his hand. It was quite shocking. Clearly.

i-have-a-hand

He also decided he really likes Phoebe. Phoebe remains unfazed but I’m guessing that is mostly because because Wesley hasn’t figured out how to purposefully grab her yet.

puppy

Wesley’s legs are officially long enough to drape over mine while I’m lying down and nursing him. My long little man.

long-legs

He makes the most hilarious faces. Currently cracking me up is how he chews on his own gums like a little old man.

gum-chewer

The sweet face I wake up to every morning.

sweet-sleeper

And lastly I’m going to end with a possibly dumb question. When Wesley does tummy time now he almost never stays on his stomach for more than a few seconds before he rolls onto his back. I’ve been leaving him like that because it seems like that better teaches him cause and effect. Plus, he’s still working on rolling himself from back to stomach. It struck me though that maybe I should flip him back to his tummy every once in awhile? I mean, it’s not really tummy time anymore, technically. Or should I leave him? Because boy is he proud of his rolling abilities.

not-tummy-time

I’m over thinking this, aren’t I?

Weekly Wesley: Eighteen

By Abigail

On August 4, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

18-Weeks-600px

World’s tiniest giant ham. No idea where he gets it. *side eye*

This was a big week. First of all, Wesley turned four months old.

wesley-phoebe-4-months

The shoot this month was a little trickier than normal because Wesley would. not. leave the sticker alone.

shirt-pulling

We had been trying to save them but this one ended up looking like it had been chewed on so I guess that’s out.

We still got some really cute shots.

4-months-1

I know it’s going to be more and more ~~challenging~~ interesting the more alert and mobile he gets.

With turning four months came the dreaded shots.

Dreaded for me anyway, Wesley is too young to realize yet.

I however had a stomach ache all day in anticipation of them. I just couldn’t get the look of surprised horror and pain on his face from the two month shots out of my head. It didn’t help that he was in the best mood ever in the doctor’s office right before.

before-shots

We were singing The Wheels on the Bus and he was laughing and giggling up a storm. He thought it was the best thing ever.

Then he nursed and fell sound asleep.

Ugh.

The shots were every bit as horrible as I was anticipating.

shots

There were several so the nurse asked another nurse to come in so they could do both at the same time. Only the stupid other nurse wasn’t into the idea of coordinating. The first nurse said they’d do it on three and the second nurse basically said, “Naw I do what I want.” and just stuck him. What a jerk.

Another quick nursing session calmed him right down though, even faster than last time so that was a relief.

Other than the shots the appointment went great. He’s off the charts tiny in weight and 50th percentile in height so that makes him looks even skinnier. He’s still growing and the pediatrician says he’s super healthy. He’s just on his own curve.

The other huge thing that happened this week was that Joel and I both left Wesley for the first time ever. Up until that point either Joel or I had always been at least in the same room as him. Even in the hospital Joel went with Wesley to the nursery every time when they had to take him for tests. He had always been in sight of at least one of us.

So of course I was nervous.

I knew that he would be safe and well cared for. That was never a question. We left him with my mom and I trust her more than anyone. I was just afraid he’d refuse his bottle and scream the whole time and my mom would never agree to babysit again.

wesley-nana

Thankfully that did not happen.

Joel and I were able to really enjoy my friend’s wedding.

film2 film1

We had to call it a bit of an early night because Wesley did melt down after awhile. He went a good 4+ hours though for the reception so we got to enjoy dinner and even dance a little. It was so amazingly refreshing to be with Joel, just the two of us. Plus, the couple that was getting married is the cutest, happiest ever. It was just lovely.

I sure was happy to get home to him though.

missed-my-baby

Lastly Joel’s grandparents were in from out of town for a visit.

grandma-g

long-legs

I treasure every minute we get with them.

Other milestones:

I showed Wesley himself in the front camera of my phone for the first time. He was skeptical.

front-camera

Wesley is thisclose to rolling over from back to front. He’s nearly done it several times but his arm has so far prevented it from happening all the way. I’m not so much a fan of him possibly doing it in his sleep though. Blurg.

roll-over

His eye tracking has gotten incredible. I noticed because of watching him follow the fish around the tank at my grandparent’s and then at the doctors office. He didn’t lose sight of those fast moving fish for a second.

fish

He has gotten a lot more drooly recently. With that comes lots of spit bubbles and jokes about rabies.

rabid

Finally, a couple pictures that are just too good to leave out.

uncle-bubs

BBQ at our favorite local place.

bekah-wesley

Had my sister Bekah over for a visit and Wesley was a big fan.

foot-grab

Bébé feet!

flying-baby

Oh hello. See ya next time.

Four Months Old

By Abigail

On July 31, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

4-months-web

Weight: 10 pounds 13 ounces

Length: 24 1/2 inches

Clothing size: Newborn for onsies but just barely. A few I’ve had to put away. He’s growing out of them in length before width though. He’s solidly in 0-3 month pants length wise but they still threaten to fall of him at any moment. He’s just a skinny mini.

Diaper size: Size 1

Sleep: He generally wants to fall asleep around 7:30 or 8, wakes up around 10 or 11 to eat and then sleeps through until 6 or 7 in the morning. After his morning feed often as not he’ll go back down until 9 or 10 and on rare occasions past noon. He tends to take one good 2 hour nap around noon or so if he hasn’t slept through until then and then a few 20 minute cat naps. Clearly we’re on a strict schedule by now. Snort.

Approximate number of photos I’ve taken of Wesley: 1,200+

Approximate diapers changed: lost count. We’ve had several blowouts lately which sucks. I’m addicted to the wet indicator line though so I’m reluctant to try a different brand.

Wesley is still a little peanut but he’s a healthy peanut. He’s gaining and according to the pediatrician that’s what matters.

Weekly Wesley: Fourteen

By Abigail

On July 7, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

Week14

This past week mister dude turned three months old. I already published the official photo but here are a few outtakes.

Funny faced close up.

sad

It took us a couple tries to actually get the shot because little man was not a happy camper.

3months-phoebe

A boy and his dog.

Another big thing this week was we celebrated the Fourth of July!

4th-of-july

That meant Joel had a really short week of work so we spent it napping.

nap-time

And cuddling.

cuddles

And going to the drive-in.

drive-in

Other milestones:

Wesley actually discovered his foot. It was the most hilarious thing ever. All of the sudden it caught his eye and he could not stop staring at it.

foot!

Two Months Old

By Abigail

On May 31, 2013

In First year, pictures, Uncategorized

two-months

Weight: 9 pounds 12 ounces

Length: 23 inches

Clothing size: Newborn for onsies still. His newborn sized pants are too short on him but the 0-3 month pants still look too big. He has grown into the rest of his 0-3 month a little more. They’re still big around the waist but he’s growing into them little by little.

Diaper size: Size 1.

Sleep: He’s awake a lot more during the day. He still takes at least one long (2-4 hour) nap during the day and several shorter (20 minutes- 1 hour). At night he usually falls asleep around 8, dream feeds at 11 or 12 when we go to bed, up at 5 or 6 again to eat and get changed and then is either up for the day around 7 or cat naps until 10 or so. Twice he’s slept even longer, once 7 hours and once 8 hours. I have zero sleep complaints. Zero.

Approximate number of photos I’ve taken of Wesley: 1,700+

Approximate diapers changed: 300+

He’s still our little peanut but he’s growing, healthy and is the happiest baby ever.

Weekly Wesley: Six

By Abigail

On May 12, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

Six-Weeks-Old

The best thing about this week was Mother’s Day. I’ll write more about it in detail later but it was a beautiful day.

image(7)

So happy that this little boy made me a mommy.

The rest of the week was pretty laid back so I’m just going to post my favorite pictures I took this week. Wesley’s more interesting than my ramblings anyway right?

swaddle-stretch

This little guy is kind of a master at escaping swaddles. The special swaddling blankets kind of help but more often than not I wake up to something like this.

sleepy-grin

This is his milk drunk face. Sleepy, happy goodness.

image(5)

I’m not positive about what was so funny but I think Wesley was pooping. Loudly. Wesley was clearly not as amused as we were.

sleep-in-daddys-arms

Sweet baby boy sleeping in his daddy’s arms.

saturday-smiles-with-daddy

Joel misses Wesley’s best time which is late morning. That is when he is all smiles and coos. Joel makes up for it on the weekends. Bonus for me? I get to doze extra while they bond. Everyone wins.

image(6)

Sweet tiny baby hands while nursing.

image(8)

Wesley has learned to love bath time, although you can’t exactly tell by the way he’s looking at me in this picture. He was enjoying himself though, trust me.

Other milestones:

I got my first smile while nursing. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the fact that I was Wesley’s only source of food and often comfort. Then the next day he looks up at me while nursing and gives me the biggest grin. Worth it.
We forgot the diaper bag on an outing for the first time. Since the store we were at sold diapers and even baby clothes we decided to risk it. He ended up sleeping through the whole trip so we didn’t have to buy emergency supplies. So it was a parent fail but we turned it into a win. We’re just talented like that.

Weekly Wesley: Five

By Abigail

On May 5, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, Uncategorized

Week5edit

This week I began to feel like we’re really settling into a routine… which of course means the last couple of nights Wesley has had bad nights of sleep. I think the issue is he hates having a wet diaper and he wets his diaper every couple of hours. So he’s hydrated but wakes way more often. Or he’s just going through a growth spurt. He still usually does one four hour stretch at least.

9-lbs

While the more frequent waking is a little frustrating I’m just glad he’s eating well and gaining weight. He looks like such a peanut I was worried he wasn’t gaining well. He had his one month check up this week though and he weighed in at nine pounds exactly! The pediatrician seemed really pleased with his weight gain so I’m going to try to stop worrying about it. I just have a tiny baby. I still kind of hope he chunks out eventually but as long as he’s healthy that’s what’s important.

holding-head-up

He’s quite strong and is able to hold his head up longer and longer. He still hates tummy time on the floor but he tolerates it better on our chests. We still do tummy time once a day on the floor so he hopefully gets more used to it soon.

balding-baby

His baby acne has improved a lot. If he gets really warm it shows back up but for the most part it’s gone. It has been replaced with some killer baby pattern baldness. He looks like a tiny little old man with a receding hairline and it cracks me up. I was bald as a cue ball until I was two so I was kind of shocked that Wesley was born with any hair at all. I’m curious when his hair will grow back in and what color it will be when it does. If his eyebrows and eyelashes are any indication he’ll be blond, but we’ll see.

stretch

By far the best thing about this week is Wesley’s cooing and smiling has reached a whole new level. He is especially happy and interactive first thing in the morning. I don’t care how crappy my night of sleep was it is impossible to be grouchy when I see his funny faces:

funny-face

And this smile makes my whole world light up:

giant-smile

The gums! The dimples! This is my favorite picture of him ever. I was holding the camera off to the side and just hitting the camera button when I took it since I didn’t want it to be between our faces. I’m so glad I caught this, even if it is a bit blurry.

Other milestones:

Joel wore Wesley in the Maya Wrap for the first time.
Wesley and I took our first outing without Joel. Wesley got to meet my good friend and dance teacher. So, really simple, just there and back but it was nice to get out of the house.
We took Wesley to his first show. It was the recital for my dance studio. He did great. He got a little hungry towards the end so I went to the back of room and fed him. Other than that he got oohed and aaahed over and slept almost the whole time. He’s such a good baby.
I had my first real caffeine since before he was born. It didn’t seem to affect him too much so yay!

I can hardly believe I love the newborn stage this month. There are times I’m frustrated or over tired but that all melts away when I see his magical smile. So incredibly worth it.

Weekly Wesley: Three

By Abigail

On April 21, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, Uncategorized

3rd-week

Joel went back to work so it was just Wesley and I this week. It went much better than I expected. Of course I basically get nothing done so my house is a bit of a disaster. My day basically goes: nurse, sit under Wesley while he naps, Wesley wakes up, change him, set him down and let him cry for a minute while I pee, grab water and food as fast as possible and repeat. So, not much gets done other than keeping the baby fed and happy. He doesn’t really nap more than a few minutes if I set him down.

mayawrap

This Saturday I tried my Maya wrap for the first time though and loved it so I’m hopeful that it will free my hands up a bit to at least get some things done. I also have a couple Moby wraps that I want to finally try. I’m pretty sure I can’t nurse him in the Moby though so I’m not sure it is practical since he eats so often right now.

mamaroo

Another thing that will (hopefully) help is this mamaRoo that Joel won! Wesley actually napped in it for almost an hour this weekend. It was pretty amazing. If I get some more hands free time I will be finishing and posting the birth story. I would really love to have it up before he hits the one month mark. We’ll see if life accommodates that goal though.

Wesley-doctor-3

Wesley hit his birth weight finally. He actually went over it, by an ounce. Yay! I was getting sick of the weekly $20 copay just to set him on a scale. I mean, obviously if there was something wrong I’d want to know so we went. It’s nice that he hit that base now, it’s definitely a load off my mind.

funny-faces

He’s way more alert this week. Especially in the last couple of days. It’s fun that he has awake times that he’s not screaming his head off because he’s hungry or needs a diaper change. The alert times are only a few minutes long but I’m loving the eye contact. Plus, he makes the most hilarious faces. This kid is cracking me up already. I’m so excited to see his first “real” smiles. Joel actually got a real smile today. I’m not jealous ~~yes I am~~.

Other milestones:

He rolled from his stomach to his back during tummy time on the 17th. I missed it ~~again totally not jealous~~ but Joel said he was kicking so hard that he (accidentally?) rolled himself over. It seemed to really startle him too.
He had his first big public outing which was to my nephew’s 2nd birthday party. He was passed around amongst my family and loved the attention.
Little man broke out with some serious newborn acne. Everything I’ve read said it doesn’t bother him which is good because it looks really painful. Hopefully it doesn’t stick around too long.
We got the photos from the newborn shoot in the mail. They’re so adorable! I’ll be posting my favorites a little later this week.

I’m hoping this next week is at least as smooth as the previous one. I know it’s too early to declare any kind of routine but I am definitely starting to feel more comfortable. I even have had moments where I actually felt like a mom. I think him being more alert has made me feel more connected to him. He is already so adorable and I can’t wait to get to know his little personality even more.

Welcome to the World, Wesley

By Abigail

On April 4, 2013

In Motherhood, pictures, Uncategorized

SkyMommy-Wesley-Yawn

This picture perfectly describes how we all feel in this house right now. Not at all surprising of course.

That being said, this will be the short version of things. I’m working on the full birth story but it’s really hard to pull myself away from staring at his perfect little face long enough. That, or I’m trying to catch a moment or two of sleep or maybe shower. Maybe. Anyway, here are the important details.

Wesley made his entrance into the world on Easter Sunday, 03-31-13. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce (which is only one once off from the weight estimate on the BPP ultrasound. How often does that happen?!) and he was 21 inches long.

His birth was positively beautiful. It really was everything I hoped it would be. I owe so much of that to my amazing support team. Everyone from the nurse, to my midwife, to my mom and sisters played their part and helped me through everything. Mostly though Joel was my rock. He was by my side literally every minute of my labor and I could not have done it without him. With all their help and thanks to my body somehow knowing exactly what to do and when to do it I got an empowering, natural birth. The moment I met my son will forever be one of the best moments of my life.

We are home now and adjusting nicely. Wesley is a champion at nursing. I really expected it to be difficult and painful at the beginning but he knew just what to do and I have to say breastfeeding is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done in my life. He hasn’t quite gotten the hang of sleep but duh, I wouldn’t have expected him to. Joel is great at taking shifts so we both catch some sleep in spurts.

All in all I’m in state of complete newborn bliss. You’ll have to forgive me from slacking online for a bit. I’m just trying to soak up every second with my gorgeous new son.

Laura’s 1000 follower giveaway

By Abigail

On April 1, 2013

In Giveaway, Uncategorized

This past week Laura from Walking in Memphis in High Heels reached 1,000 followers on her blog! To celebrate and thank her readers, she has teamed up with some of her favorite bloggers to have a huge giveaway! Please take a moment to show these women (and one man) some love! One lucky reader will win a $300 gift card to J.Crew, a $200 gift card to Target and a $200 gift card to Sephora! How amazing is that?! You can check out each blog by clicking on the link below their name, and enter the giveaway by using the Rafflecopter below.