Saturday, February 20, 2010

Cuddly blankets

Oh, I'm a sucker for soft, cuddly blankets and so happy that Seth has been gifted with so many. Can you indulge me for a moment while I lust after these monogrammed, super soft blankets? I would love to win one and one of my favorite bloggers, http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/2010/02/product-review-ultra-personalized-baby.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ChroniclesOfABabywiseMom+%28Chronicles+of+a+Babywise+Mom%29&utm_content=Google+Reader, is giving a blanket away!

If I win, I would choose the "Molly's Very Own Herringbone" blanket in light blue and put Seth's full name, birth information, and the meaning of his name, "Appointed by God".

I hope I win!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Our two-month old

Seth, exactly two months ago, you entered this world! You turned 2 months on February 16th! Wow - time has flown by way too fast! I can still vividly remember the day that Jason and I brought Seth home. I look through photos of Seth in his first few weeks and marvel at how tiny he was. And now, he's like a little boy! You made your entrance known with some fresh cries, but your personality shown through in those first two hours....intense and curious stares, wide blue eyes fixated on my face and your daddy's face trying to figure us out (as you still are!) and quiet confidence that this was where and when you were meant to be.

This is a summary of Seth's 8-9 weeks, when he hit his 2-month milestone.

At two months, gone is the newborn, scrunched up little face. It's been replaced with a calm, content and relaxed curious look. Sometimes you're "serious Seth" with a furrowed brow, which means you're quietly taking everything in and a content little man.

It has been a week of "goos", "coos", "ah-goos" and other little squeals from Seth. He is finding his voice and seems surprised that those sounds came out of his mouth.

Your wide eyes pop open when you've been surprised - the whites around your bright blue iris expanding as you try to figure out the new game Mommy and Daddy play with you. In fact, you abandon your furrowed brow and your eyebrows arch when you are very alert and in a playful mood, which I call your "active wakefulness". These times happen most often after your morning feeding, getting changed on the changing table and in the early evening hours. It's at these times that we get your most cheerful squeals, "coos" and "ah-goos".

You like it when Mommy or Daddy give you kisses on your cheek and neck or give you little raspberries on your neck. I started playing peek-a-boo with you by placing a burp cloth over your face for one second and then quickly pulling it away. You get excited and respond with a smile or squeal.

Light brown fuzzy hair is growing what seems to be an inch a day! Eyebrows are arching their way over your deep blue eyes. And those eyelashes make Mommy swoon when you bat them. It appears that you will have medium brown hair to match your eyebrows.

You shake your arms really fast when you're super excited. You pump your legs back and forth. Dr. Lisa (your pediatrician) says you have strong legs. You also have a little birth mark on your right leg.

At your two month check-up on 2.19.10, you had a recurring theme: 75th percentile! Go baby Seth!
Weight: 12lbs 14oz
Height: 23.5 inches

You also received two vaccines - one was a shot and one was an oral vaccine. You were pretty sleepy during the whole appointment, right up to the vaccine injections. When the nurse gave you the shot, boy did you wake up quickly and gave a big scream! But, you quieted after that and with some cuddles and hugs, you were fine. It seemed that your leg was sore for the rest of the day, because you were a little cranky. Mommy was happy to give you the cuddles and kisses you needed to be consoled.

There is no concern about whether or not you are getting enough to eat. You eat well, even if sometimes you fall asleep on the second side of feeding. Sometimes on the second side of feeding, you get really fidgety and slap your hand against my chest. Only half of your feedings do you keep your eyes open and stare at whatever is behind my shoulder. Do you get bored?

You like to touch and use your hands. You hold your hands and occasionally intertwine your fingers. You grasp onto plastic rings if they are strategically placed into your open hand. You touch and hold onto your ears and rub your eyes.

You are fluctuating between the 0-3 month, 3 month and 3-6 month clothing based on what clothing brand you're wearing. You almost seem to look for the 0-3 month clothing! I think it may be because you have a long torso, which make it a little difficult for your feet to fit in the footsies just right.

In fact, the few nights that I got up to feed Seth in the middle of the night this week, he would look up at me before feeding him in the nursery chair and just smile at me and "goo" at me. How precious! It was like he was saying, "Thank you for getting up for me, Mommy!"

It was also the first week in which I actually did not set the alarm clock to see how long Seth would sleep. The first night, Seth slept until 6:45am! The second night, he slept until 7am! For both nights, he didn't wake up crying for food. It was more like fussiness that he wanted someone to come in and get him because he'd been in the crib for so long. When I went to his crib, he stopped fussing and started smiling and cooing at me. He just wanted someone to come get him! We'll see how many more nights we can continue this nice tradition.:0

Now, I know one of the nice things about Seth learning to sleep until the morning is so that Jason and I can get longer periods of sleep. Wouldn't you know that I was the one waking up at 3am, 4am and 5am thinking that I heard Seth crying when he actually wasn't? I thought something might be wrong with him since he hadn't gotten up yet, so I'd sneak into his room to check on him. Little man was fast asleep! So, I was the one who didn't get a lot of sleep the first night Seth slept on his own through the night.

And now for the adorable two-month pictures taken at the Counihan home studio!





February 10, 2010:

Seth is able to hold his head up at a 90 degree angle for a good 10 seconds. He can tip himself over to his right onto his back.



February 11, 2010:

Seth really likes to be held facing out, with his back to your chest, so he can see around. He really liked being placed in the Jeep carrier for the first time. I walked around the house and he loved it! I can't wait to take him to the mall and walk around like this.


Valentine's Day, 2010:

Our little Valentine!





February 15, 2010:

It was Jason's birthday, so I dressed Seth up in a cute little "Daddy Loves Me" shirt and we made a birthday video for Jason.

I call this the "cha-cha-cha" photo, because it looks like Seth is doing a little salsa dance!

Seth likes being propped up in front of the window and stare outside.


February 16, 2010:

Seth's two-month milestone! He is no longer a tiny little peanut in his carseat like he was when he came home from the hospital!


Ha - I love this preppy little button-down shirt. When we found out we were having a boy, I told Jason that I would finally get to dress someone with cute preppy boy clothes, since Jason will not let me buy preppy clothes for him!

February 17, 2010:
The naked baby photo shoot! Seth happily compiled and even looked at me a few times as though he was unsure of why I would let him chill out without his clothes on.







Friday, February 5, 2010

Seth's Summary: 7 weeks

It's the week of eyelashes and eyebrows! I'm convinced his eyelashes grew five inches and his eyebrows started to really come in. Do you know what this means? Someday those eyelashes and eyebrows are going to catch some lady's eyes and she'll be hooked.

It's also the week of Seth's first cold. He caught it from Jason, then passed it on to me! Poor little baby with a congested nose. It's affected his naps because he'll cough and wake himself up.

The other fun thing about this week and last week is that Seth has really become so much more alert and interactive with us. You can tell that Seth really likes something because his eyes get really wide, he flings his arms around and around and he pumps his legs back and forth. Sometimes he even smacks his lips! It is so, so adorable!

Feedings: we moved his feedings around a little so that we don't cluster feed (multiple feedings in the early evening) to tank Seth up for the night. He has a feeding at 7:30pm and then his late-night feeding at 10:30pm. Right now, I still set my alarm for 4am to wake Seth up for a feeding. Because I typically have to wake him up, I think he would probably sleep longer than 4am but I don't want to jinx it yet!

Sleeping: Knock on wood, Seth sleeps well in the night. We keep holding our breath for fear one night our baby will decide to do something completely different and keep us up at all hours! During the day, Seth averages four naps of about 1-2 hours. Sometimes he goes down easily for a nap, sometimes he puts up a fuss. Because he's had a cold, he has woken himself up from coughing and cuts his nap short. There have been a few days that he's only taken naps of 45 minutes at a time.

Awake time: we've been introducing more toys and books to Seth. I can tell he's interested in them because his eyes get really wide and he waves his arms.

Tummy time: Seth can push his neck and head up to a 90 degree angle! He holds himself up for at least 10 seconds and looks at himself in the mirror on his playmat or just strains to look at what's around him. Not only does Seth have tummy time on his playmat, but he likes to lay on Jason's chest on the couch and look around the living room.

Other fun and sweet things about Seth:
- He loves lights. He will stare at lights. Just when you think he's staring over your shoulder at some unseen celestial being...nope, he's just staring a light. As far as I know!:)
- He shakes his hands when he gets really excited.
- At night when I have to change his diaper and he's barely awake, I put him on the changing table and all of a sudden he realizes he's not in my arms anymore and doesn't realize where's he's at. I hold my hands out to his flailing arms for him to grab and I say over and over, "It's okay. I'm just changing you. Mommy's here." He settles down and then I (quickly!) get to business.
- Jason read a Sandra Boynton book to Seth and he loved it! Jason read it over and over and he just looked at all the pictures. I can tell he's going to be a reader!
- Seth goes to the gym with me.:) I feed him and then we head over to the gym, while Seth proceeds to fall asleep in his carseat and I get a little workout in on the eliptical machine. Works out terrifically!
- We went to both ABF group AND the service at church this Sunday. It was Seth's first service and he slept through the whole thing - sorry, Pastor Dave! I finally got to sit in the "mommy" section. I have always dreamed of being able to sit with a baby during the service. This time I got to show off Seth and feed him a bottle. This mommy had a lot of pride today!
- When I wake Seth up for the middle-of-the-night feeding, he'll lay in my lap, stare up at me and give me the biggest smiles and "goos!". It is SOOO sweet and totally melts my heart!


February 3, 2010:
Seth wanted to dress up really adorable for a lunch date with daddy! I bathed Seth and spiffed him with this cute winter outfit (as if he needs any spiffing up!) before we drove over to Jason's office. Seth was up long enough to peak around Jason's office, after which he konked out in his car seat. We went to Kahn's Grill and had the best lunch. I out-ate Jason....again. What can I say - I'm breastfeeding and need the extra calories!




February 4, 2010:
This is what Seth looks like when I'm trying to wake him up out of a nap.....I know, I know what you're thinking. Why wake a sleeping baby?? Because this little baby would sleep up to five hours in one nap during the day and I'd much rather have him sleep five hours at night.:)

This beautiful white and blue blanket was crafted by Joyce's friend, Deb. It is sooo soft and I love cuddling Seth up in the blanket.



Isn't this a fun soccer outfit! Compliments of the Terres family. Jason took one look at and said, "That's my boy!"




February 5, 2010:
Eyelashes that go on for miles and eyebrows starting to fill in!



February 6, 2010:


February 7, 2010:
With a little bit of strategic placement, Seth grabbed onto the playmat toy for five minutes, at which point he began to look a little confused at the toy wondering why his hand was attached to the toy. It's like you could read his mind, "How do I let go?"


Seth and his daddy taking an afternoon Sunday nap. Awww!!!!


February 9, 2010:
Seth is really getting into the hanging toys - you can tell by his outstretched arms! He'll swing his arms around and they occasionally bump into the hanging toys. He seems so proud of himself when he does that!

It's a snow day! I've started positioning Seth on the couch so he can look outside and he seems to like it! It's like a whole new world....


Have a great week! Can't wait to share about Seth's 8th week. He'll be two months in just a few days and he's already starting to look like a little man.:)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Seth's Summary: 6 weeks

Smiles and coos! Seth has been rewarding Jason and I with big-mouth smiles, squeals and coos.

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The big deal this week is that Seth had a weigh-in at the pediatrician. Guess who weighs 11.2 lbs at 6 weeks??? Yep, Seth gained 2.5 lbs in 3 weeks. The boy likes to eat!

Feedings: Breastfeeding with Seth is still going well. He still has 8 feedings a day, with a middle of the night feeding at 4-4:30am and his last feeding at 10:30pm.

Awake time: typically lasts about 10-15 minutes after Seth's feedings. Sometimes I give Seth a bath, but most of the time I try to have Seth lay on his back and explore his world. Seth tends to get more awake time in the early evening, right when Daddy comes home!

Tummy time: Seth really gets into tummy time on his playmat. He makes little squeals and rocks his legs back and forth when he tries to push himself up.

Other fun and sweet things about Seth:
- He is extremely alert in the early afternoon and evenings. When Jason comes home, he puts Seth on the floor and spends time giving Seth big smiling expressions and he's being rewarded with big toothless smiles and coos from Seth.
- Seth gets really excited when he's put on the changing table. He pumps his legs back and forth and shakes his arms. He even smiles up at the elephant mobile.
- 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.

January 21, 2010:
I love to get close up to Seth's feet and hands. They will never be this small again!






January 22, 2010:
Only a mother takes a picture of her baby's diaper bum!




January 23, 2010:
Seth's first trip to Perkins! I was dying to get out and go out for breakfast with my two men. Seth did great and sat contentedly while his mommy and daddy feasted on delicious breakfast....one day he will understand.:) We're becoming more and more confident taking out an infant, because we find Seth does well and seems to enjoy a change of scenery whenever we take him out in his carseat.


January 24, 2010:
Go Vikings! Sad to say, it was a tough day for the Vikings. Who puts their baby in an adult Vikings jersey?!


January 25, 2010:
Guess who? This is one of the last times that I laid Seth down for a nap in this direction in his crib. He is now too long to lay vertically in his crib.


January 26, 2010:
Our little bu-bushcka! Doesn't Seth just look like a MN "frozen tundra" little honey?

January 27, 2010:


January 28, 2010:
Seth's diaper was dubbed "the bikini diaper" by his nurse practicioner. He's wearing a size "newborn" Huggies diaper - way too small for his 12.5lb little body! Ha! I had a hunch that he was getting heavier and might be out of the newborn size, but 12.5lbs confirmed that hunch!


January 29, 2010:


January 30, 2010:


January 31, 2010:

Look how high Seth can raise his head! He loved looking at himself in the mirror on his playmat.


February 1, 2010: Seth is staring out the window in our living room. He is drawn to lights and windows.



February 2, 2010:
Grandma T. came to visit with Seth, even though he was taking a nap most of the time!