Sunday, January 24, 2010

Our one-month old

What a fun month that Jason and I have had with Seth in our lives! Seth is a sweet baby boy. I don't like to call babies "good" or "bad" based on how easy they make their parents' live, how well they sleep, or their temperament. Seth has been pretty predictable and we have gotten to know him well, which has made it easier for us to care for and nurture Seth. We love Seth so much and feel so blessed that God gave us Seth!

When Seth was two days old and we bundled him up in the car seat, I took a picture of him. He was so tiny! Somebody recommended that I take a monthly picture of him to see how big he gets from month to month.

Here is Seth swimming in his car seat at two days old. All you see is a little blue hospital cap!



Here is Seth at one month. Those are some seriously cute little cheeks, huh?


I am taking monthly pictures of Seth in his nursing chair, to see how big he gets. Here is Seth at two weeks. He was such a sleepy head in his early days:




Here is Seth at one month. He keeps his beautiful blue eyes open more often these days!



Thursday, January 21, 2010

Seth's Summary: 5 weeks

Naps: Seth falls asleep for his mid-morning naps, but he typically fights his afternoon and evening naps. He will cry and fuss for about 15-20 minutes and either fall asleep on his own, or he will continue to cry...when we go in to sit with him and "shush" in his ear until he just about drifts off, at which point we gingerly get up from the chair and gently put him in the crib.

Feedings: Breastfeeding with Seth is still going well. He typically gets full feedings and dthen I "tank" him up in the early evening with an extra feeding to fill his tummy so that he sleeps for longer stretches at night. It has worked well so far!

Awake time: ....is about the same from last week - still trying to get his awake time more consistent right after he is finished eating, during his daytime feeds. This can prove to be slightly difficult since he oftentimes falls asleep when he finishes eating.

Tummy time: We have tummy time about 2 times a day during his awake time.

Other fun and sweet things about Seth:
- His legs and arms are getting thicker, so we started using Huggies diapers for now because they seem to work well with babies that have thicker legs. We have officially had 7 days without a leak! Knock on wood.
- We have an elephant mobile hanging directly over Seth's changing table. We spin in and he loves to watch it! It definitely distracts him while we are changing his diaper. He stops wiggling and just watches it spin.
- Seth apparently likes things that rotate. We were at a Christmas party and Seth was enthralled with the rotating ceiling fan. We almost went out and bought a ceiling fan for his room!

January 13, 2010:

January 14, 2010: Bath time! Doesn't Seth look all cuddly wrapped up in his towel? He gets all wiggly and talks to me all excitedly when I'm washing, waving his hands and arms about.




January 15, 2010: My company gifted Seth with this beautiful monogrammed blanket. Isn't it so sweet?



January 16, 2010: Exactly one month ago, Seth came into our world and our lives have never been the same!



January 18, 2010: Seth is being held by Grandma Joycie. He doesn't know it, but he's hanging out with the girls (and Jason!) watching The Bachelor. Terrible mommy that I am - subjecting our little boy to that show, eh? :)

January 19, 2010: I try to have Seth play on his tummy to strengthen his shoulders and neck. Seth prefers to turn his head to the right, so I purposefully put musical toys on his left and talk to him from the left to get him to turn his head to the left. He likes to watch the blinking red lights on the blue little puppy toy.




Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Seth's Summary: 4 weeks

It is so hard to believe that our little boy is now 4 weeks old! With the Christmas and New Year holiday celebrations and visitors, this time has sadly flown by. It was truly a sweet, special Christmas and New Year that we will never forget. I have to say that I love being hunkered down in the cold weather with Seth. It is a good winter!

A big thing for Seth was his 3 week appointment with his nurse practitioner. He gained weight and the little guy weighed in at 8 lbs, 7 oz! He also grew 2 inches and was 21.5 inches.

Here is a summary of Seth's four weeks...

Our day typically looks like this:
7am: Seth's first feeding, some waketime, then back to sleep
9:30-10am: Seth's mid-morning feeding, some tummy time or other wake time (if I can get him to stay awake!), then a 1 1/2-2hr nap
12:00-12:30pm: Seth's lunch feeding, then some wake time, then a 1 1/2-2hr nap
2:30pm-3:00pm: Seth's mid-afternoon feeding, then some wake time and if Seth is tired, he will take a nap
5:00-5:30pm: Seth's first cluster feed, a little wake time, cuddle time with daddy, some crying moments and then a short nap
7:00-7:30pm: Seth's second cluster feed, a little wake time, then a short nap
10:30-11pm: Seth's late night feeding. then straight to bed
3am: Seth's early, EARLY morning feeding; I usually have to wake him up! Our nurse practitioner suggested that we could let him sleep through this feeding and see how he does, but I'm a little hesitant yet.

Naps: Seth will take his early morning and mid-morning naps, but he has begun to not do well with his afternoon and early evening naps starting in his 3rd week. There are naps when he will fuss and cry for the first 45 minutes, then sleep for about 30 minutes and wake himself, crying and fussing. Usually if it's close to Seth's next feeding, I will pick him up and try putting him in the swing to comfort him. Seth has only been in the swing a few times and half the time, the swing comforts and distracts him. He looks so cute and small in the swing.:)

Feedings: I am breastfeeding Seth and he definitely likes to eat. 90% of the time I am able to get him to eat a full feeding. His output suggests he is getting a lot of input! He usually will spit up about 5-10 minutes after eating - sometimes through his nose!

Awake time: I am trying to get his awake time more consistent right after he is finished eating, during his daytime feeds. This can prove to be slightly difficult since he oftentimes falls asleep when he finishes eating.

Tummy time: I have started to do encourage tummy time for Seth, by putting him on his tummy on a blanket in the living room to encourage him to strengthen his neck muscles and motor development. During the tummy times I've done, he can push up on his fists and raise his neck for about 3-5 seconds. Seth can also turn his head right to left. I usually position myself on the same level and talk to him so he turns his head to me. He is very vocal when he is on his tummy, grunting and sometimes getting a little frustrated as though he is trying really hard to move his head.

Other fun and sweet things about Seth:
- His nickname is "Super Seth".
- He has found his fingers and hands, touching and holding his fingers.
- He seems to be gaining some control over what his hands do or where he rests his arms and hands when I'm feeding him.
- He touches and holds his ear.
- His legs and arms are starting to get thicker.
- When Jason or I are holding Seth upright in his swaddle, he will stretch and hold his neck and head back to look at our faces. He is strong!
- He likes to be swaddled!
- He is really calm and seems to enjoy being washed. We have only sponge-bathed him so far.
- He favors turning his head to the right, especially when he lays down for naps and at night when he sleeps. Unfortunately, it's given him a flat side, so Jason and I are constantly trying to turn his head when he's sleeping or laying on his back.
- He has a mobile in his crib and when we play it, he watches the mobile turn in fascination!
- His eyes are royal blue. We'll see if he will get his father's green-hazel eyes or my blue eyes!
- He always furrows his brows, as though he's thinking really hard about something...or doing something.:) He furrows his brows like his mommy does!
- He has transitioned over into 0-3 month clothing because his footsies are too big for the newborn size and he had grown 2 inches by his 3rd week!
- He is transitioning into the next size up for diapers.
- He is typically a calm baby, but vocal with squeaks and grunts.

I so enjoy my days with Seth! I love being his mommy and taking care of him. I love the little routine that I have with him each day. I've started doing speical little things each morning with Seth while I feed him. When I feed him mid-morning, I always read Seth a chapter in Psalms according to the calendar day and I play KTIS 98.5.

Little confession: prior to Seth being born, I was so intimidated by all the diapers and spit-up that come with babies, but I can't believe how none of it phases me in the least! I never would have thought that I wouldn't have a problem with smearing diaper rash cream all over my baby's bottom....but that's what becoming a mom does, I guess! I never cringe or gag. I just do it because I know I'm caring for Seth.

Here are some pictures during Seth's 3rd week....

January 6, 2010:




January 7, 2010:






January 8, 2010:



January 10, 2010:

Jason and his son with his college friend and fellow soccer player, Mike, and his son. Maybe someday these two little boys will play soccer together!


This was Seth's first appearance at church. Doesn't he look cute in that adorable bear outfit?

January 11, 2010:



Seth is having tummy time. I love gray and blue on my baby boy!

January 12, 2010:

Seth is enjoying some wake time in his infant bouncer while mommy was organizing his nursery. He doesn't sit often in the bouncer, but I turned the little vibrating seat on and he seemed to like it!


January 13, 2010:
Seth was gifted with his first monogrammed baby item from my wonderful company. Isn't this blanket so sweet and special? I love it!




See you next week for a summary of Seth's five weeks!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Can you guess...

which character is me and which character is Jason?

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Yep - I'm the bigger guy and Jason is the smaller one. I nearly bawl when Seth is going through a fussy or crying moment. Jason is calm and more willing to let Seth cry a little to settle himself down.

Three Weeks

Seth is now over 3 weeks old! I can't believe how much he has changed in the 3 weeks that he entered our world. Seth is our wonderful little man. Jason and I are reveling in our new role as his parents and getting to know what Seth is all about. I have to admit that I was kind of scared taking care of a newborn baby. I have been SO surprised with how much I love this newborn stage! Seth was so little and sweet and my mothering instincts really kicked in. I enjoy being a mother so much!

At Seth's three week pediatric apt:
Weight: 8lbs 7 oz! 25th percentile (he likes to eat and is quite the guzzler)
Height: 21.5 inches; 55th percentile (he grew 2 inches since birth and we have a feeling he's going to be a tall boy)
Head circ: 14.5 inches; 35th percentile

Seth's nurse practitioner commented how social and vocal he is. He is always grunting and making squeaking sounds. Not only does he communicate with his grunts and squeaks, but he also listens intently and focuses on the person who is holding him when they talk to him. Seth will look the person right in the face and watch their eyes when they talk to him.

Seth knows his mommy and daddy! When he is being held by someone else and I talk, he turns his head towards me and looks to find me. It is so endearing and melts my heart! Jason is so interactive and expressive with Seth and I can tell Seth is just ready to giggle when Jason gets close to him and says, "Hi!" with a huge smile and big eyes.

Time to brag with cute pictures of our baby boy! Can't you just see how much Seth has changed? His chin and neck has really filled out.

December 26, 2009:


Jason with Seth and our friend, Brian, with his son, Luke.

Brian's wife, Kay, with son, Luke; me and Seth.


December 27, 2009:


December 28, 2009:


December 29, 2009:



I'm tracking Seth's growth by taking a monthly picture in his nursery chair next to his football. Here Seth is at 2+ weeks old:





December 30, 2009:


December 31, 2009: