Ladies and Gentleman - We Have Teeth!

Yes, you read the title correctly, our little Connor Blake is getting his first tooth at 5 months of age! He has been handling it really well, just a few fussy spells here and there, but nothing to terrible. He is getting into anything and everything he can grab. He loves using his hands to hold things and try to shove them into his mouth. My hair is one of his favorites, I have just decided to wear it pulled back until he gets out of this phase. If we are eating and one of us is holding him, he grabs for the plate, the silverare, and the food itself. Mealtime has become kind of a pain, especially at restaurants since he refuses to be in his carseat if he is awake. He wants to be out checking out all the action. Sean and I have to take turns between eating and holding him, but we don't mind too much.

My mom was in town Sunday through Wednesday, while Sean was in California. We had a great time together. Connor adores her and she was such a big help to me. She took care of him during his one night time feeding and I got to catch up on some sleep. She and my dad are coming back August 18th, so Sean and I can attend a concert and stay the night in Dallas. This will be our first full night away since Connor was born. He will be 6 months on the 25th, so I finally feel comfortable leaving him that long. I am also in the process of weaning him and just feeding him bottles. So far he has been doing pretty well.

In other news, I am now an Usborne Books and More Consultant. I am really excited, and a little bit nervous. I have always wanted to try selling products, I just never knew what type. I knew make-up was not my thing, I could not get super excited about any of the jewelry lines, and I lovce Scentsy - but I know too many people who sell it. Well, Aunt Beth, Uncle Jeff, and Cousin Katie gave Connor "That's Not My Puppy" and "That's Not My Dinosaur" books, which he and I both love. I googled the books to see what other ones were out and I realized I could actually sell them! Usborne Books has books, games, activities, manipulatives, and more for babies all the way up to middle school. There are some really fabulous products I wish I had known about as a teacher. I plan to have my first party the second week in September. My website is up and running and I am hoping I will have a few people want to book a party as well. You can earn lots of free books, which would be great to add to your little one's library or save for gifts for the fast approaching holiday season. Here is my site, please check it out and if you have any questions let me know!

http://t3288.myubam.com/

First ear infection!

Last week our little guy was just not acting right. His sleeping was non existent, both at night and during the day. I called the doctor and we found out he had an ear infection. He was given ear drops and antibiotics, and they worked like magic! He also had to be prescribed Prevacid for his acid reflux, since the Zantac was starting to not work. It took about a week and his sleep is finally getting back on track.

He is now over 16 pounds, which amazes me. He has tripled his weight in 5 months. I am hoping this slows down or we will have one massive 1 year old. He is still getting rice cereal and we have found a formula that he tolerates. I am still breastfeeding the majority of the time, but it is good to know he will take formula.

He is really such a happy boy. He is always smiling and laughing, which makes the days so much fun. We are starting to get a nap routine going, and that is making him much happier. It is also helping with his sleeping at night, we had 8 full hours last night. He ate and went back down for another 3 hours. I am hoping this keeps up!

Sean is leaving for California this weekend and will be gone until Wednesday....what does that mean for Connor and I? Grandma is coming! I am so excited to have my mom come here and be with us for the entire time Sean will be gone. We are going to have so much fun, and I am sure Connor will be spoiled!

Solid food, lots of talking, and not much sleep!

Lots has been going on this past week. We started Connor on rice cereal. He still isn't really sure of what to do with it, but each night we are getting more and more in our mouth. It is so funny to see him not understanding what to do with food. It is something we all take for granted each day, but at one time we were all in the same boat.

I am amazed everyday by how much Connor takes in and retains. I feel like he is really going to be a smart little boy. He loves to pick up his toys, pass them back and forth between his hands and try to land them into his mouth. He loves to listen to me sing songs to him and read stories to him. He has now started to try and hold the book and stare intently at the pictures. He is constantly cooing and babbling. I wish I ends what he was trying to say to me, but I am sure one day he will be talking and I will wish that I could not understand him ;)

He is still rolling onto his stomach at night and waking himself up trying to roll back. Even though he can do it, he likes to wake me up and have me do it for him. He is such a sweetie! ;) His sleep habits are so unpredictable, one night he will sleep from 8:30-4 with one feeding and go back down until 7:30, but the next he will go down at 8:30 and wake up at 1,3,5 and 7. I can not do the cry it out method just yet, maybe once he is 6 months, but I just feel he is too young right now. I am sure people will disagree with me, but it was also the advice of my pediatrician. His naps are also so spread out. Even though I try and try to get him on a schedule, he just is on his own right now. Some days he takes 2-3 solid hour and a half naps, some days he just takes little cat naps. I am really exhausted! I am going on 20 weeks with not one solid full nights sleep. I am definitely ready for one, and hopefully soon. At least I don't have a full time job along with taking care of Connor, Chloe, Sean, and the house. I admire those of you who do it all, plus work all day!

Connor tried formula for the first time this past weekend, I don't think it agreed with him, so I am going to try another kind. It was nice to be able to go out and not have to worry about breastfeeding or breast milk. I will continue to breast feed and give formula when we are out and about, if I can find one that doesn't upset his tummy too much.

19 weeks!

Connor is now 19 weeks, unbelievable! He can roll for his back to his front, but poor boy has not yet mastered the other direction. He gets very upset when he is on his tummy for extended periods of time, so now he wakes up angry in the middle of the night. I am patiently awaiting the day he can roll himself back over. We decided to wait on the rice cereal and plan on trying it tomorrow, we will see how it goes. We are also planning to introduce formula to him so he gets use to it, since I plan to stop breast feeding at 6 months.

Last weekend - Sean, Connor and I went to Albuquerque to visit family. Connor got to meet his cousin Katie, who is 1 year and 9 days older than him, his Uncle Jeff and Aunt Beth, and his only great grandparent - Grandpa Brewer. It was a fun time. Connor slept on the plane the whole way from DFW to Albuquerque, but cried the whole way returning home. It was a rough hour, but Sean and I got through it.

Connor got loved on by all of the family, Sean got to eat his Dion's sub (twice) and lots of green and red chile, and I got mastitis! Ha ha, somehow I think I got the short end of the stick! I didn't feel right most of the weekend and on Sunday night I got very nauseous at dinner and at about 2 a.m. woke up with severe pain. Finally on Tuesday morning the doctor told me I had mastitis and prescribed me antibiotics. I felt much better by Wednesday morning, thank goodness!

We got to take Connor to the Albuquerque aquarium and he loved it! It was so awesome seeing his eyes follow all the fish. I definitely plan on getting a zoo membership and museum membership as he gets older, he and I will have loads of fun.

Sean has become Connor's favorite play mate. He just laughs and coos at Sean everytime he is around. It is so neat to see their bond. I just love them both so much, I am one lucky girl.

I post these updates from my iPad so I don't post picture, but I have plenty on Facebook. One day I plan on sitting at the actual computer and adding pictures to give my blog some life!

Four Month Check-Up

Today Connor went for his four month check-up. He is in the 50th percentile for weight at 14 pounds and 15 ounces and 10th percentile for height at 23.8 inches. Hopefully that will change and he will grow some more longways and stay the same sideways (;

The doctor was pleased with him overall and he is hitting all the milestones, which makes me very proud. He had to get two shots, he screamed and cried for a few minutes and then fell right asleep. He was in a pretty good mood the rest of the day.

We will be introducing rice cereal next week! We will definitely get video and pictures of the first time. This weekend we will be going on our first trip with Connor. We will be heading to Albuquerque to see family. Connor will get to meet his Uncle Jeff, Aunt Beth, Cousin Katie and Great Grandpa Brewer. I am a little nervous about the plane ride, but it is a short one. It will also be hard getting out of the routine and familiar surroundings with Connor, but we are hoping he will adjust well and it will be a great time!

Chloe has finally warmed up to Connor. It has been fun to see her noticing him and he seems very excited every time she is around. I think they will be best friends, especially when he starts eating and dropping all his food on the floor.

Tomorrow is our four year anniversary, and it is amazing how fast it has flown by. I feel very blessed to have Sean as my husband and as Connor (and Chloe's) Dad! I am so excited to see what the future holds for us!

Another week gone - where did it go?

Staying home everyday really makes the weeks go by fast. Each day consists of the same routine, so weekends are no longer full of sleeping in and coming and going as we please. Connor is worth the new lifestyle though and we wouldn't change it for anything.

This past week has been a lot of fun. Connor has started to play with his toys, smile much more, and even laugh! He has rolled over a few times too. He has started to nap more regularly and he is sleeping longer and longer most nights. Next week we go for his four month check up and the doctor may have us introduce solids, we shall see.

I am still exclusively breast feeding and plan to continue until Connor is six months. It has gotten easier, but I still don't love it. I refuse to breastfeed in public, even with a cover, so I still am confined to the house every 2-3 hours. I do pump and bring bottles occasionally, but I just find it easier to be home when he needs to eat. I think it is great for those who are comfortable breastfeeding in public, I just find it very uncomfortable.

Next week Connor will get 4 shots. He took them really well at his two month appointment and I hope he does just as well this time. I am providing my child with all his vaccines when the pediatrician recommends. I think it is funny to see people so against vaccines. My dad is a doctor and he is the absolute best. He constantly reads and keeps up with the newest research and he would not let me do anything that would harm my child. Plus, I got all my vaccines and I turned out fine. The alternative of not getting the vaccines scares me and I hope schools continue to be adamant about children having to be vaccinated.

I will get off my soap box now, I hope I didn't offend anyone too badly.

I slacked, big time!

I really wanted to be a good blogger, but I did not get off to the best start. Connor is now 15 weeks and two days! I can not believe how fast the time haas gone by. He changes so much every day and has become so much more fun the past month. Here are some milestones:

About 9 weeks he started smiling at things other than gas. About 10 weeks he started to bat at toys About 11 weeks he started to sleep for 4-6 hours at night About 13 weeks he started to "talk" and really laugh!

I get to witness all these changes since I stay home with him everyday. I am still loving every minute, but am now able to leave him for longer periods without being so stressed. June 2nd, my parents gave up their anniversary night and watched him for about 4 hours so Sean and I could do dinner and celebrate my 28th birthday. On June 9th, Sean watched him from 4pm until after midnight while I went to the Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney concert with my friend Cara. They both did fine, but Sean decided he wanted to keep his day job. We both joined koko fit club and I work out for an hour 3 days a week.

The past 2 weeks Connor has been much fussier than normal. I read that this tends to happen around Connor's age, I feel better knowing he is "normal", but I'm ready for him to be the happy baby again. Today was much better, and I am hoping tomorrow goes well too. We have had trouble getting routine naps down, so I am thinking that also has something to do with it. I am just very thankful Connor goes down well at night. He loves his bedtime routine, which is a walk around the pond in our neighborhood in the Baby Bjorn, a bath, and a bottle from Daddy. It is funny, his bedtime keeps getting earlier - he just gets exhausted by the end of the day. We start his routine anywhere from 7:30-7:50 depending on his mood and he falls asleep anywhere from 8:15-8:40. He has only been getting up once, sometimes twice a night - something I really appreciate. I am ready for a full night without an interruption and I am sure we are on track for that.

Our day starts between 7:30-8, we get dressed and eat breakfast and sing our favorite songs. These are chicka chicka boom boom, if you are happy and you know it, the wheels on the bus, and Blake Shelton songs. He will also play on his mat while I get ready for the day. I try and get him to take a morning nap, but that has been unsuccessful lately. I usually run errands around 10:30/11 and that's when he decides to sleep. When we get home we both eat lunch and do tummy and bumbo time. I usually try and read to him at this time. I try and put him down for an afternoon nap, he will fall asleep anywhere except his crib. Sometimes it's a 45 minute nap, sometimes it's close to two hours. When he gets up we do some jumperoo and play mat time, as well as some more tummy time. We start getting dinner ready and then daddy comes home and spends time with us. Then our night time routine starts.

I promise to be better about blogging, hopefully this one makes up for the 2 month hiatus!