Last week was a very exciting week for us. D.J started smiling nonstop!! It truly is the cutest thing every time he does it. He's started making all kinds of noises too. He does it a lot when we copy him, he tries to copy us back. He also seems to make noises whenever we aren't paying him any attention. It's funny how he's learned some of these things already. He's soothing himself more and more with his hands. He pretty much eats his whole fist but it seems to work when he's upset. He's doing great and we've had a great week together.
I started making new recipes for dinner this week. I'm not a huge cooker so this is pretty big for me! Monday I made beef enchiladas and they were delicious. A definite recipe I will make again. Tuesday I made this chicken casserole which is another keeper. Wednesday was a beef mac and cheese dish. I need to change this one a little when I make again. Thursday we did a Digornio pizza. Friday I made lasagna and garlic bread. All of these are new recipes for me and will definitely make all of them again. I have enjoyed staying at home so I can do stuff like this. Usually I'm so tired from working that I just want to do something quick and simple for dinner. It makes me feel good that I can do something for Dave when he gets home from work. I know he's appreciating and liking the homemade dinners because he's taking them for lunches. He LOVED the enchiladas the best.
Dinners for this week: Chicken and biscuits, chicken fajitas, pasta roll ups, spaghetti and meatballs and some kind of hot dog dish. I'll let you know how they are next week! If anyone has any good chicken or beef recipes let me know.
This weekend my friend Jodi came to visit with her daughter Mackenzie. I haven't really seen her since DJ was born. It was so nice of them to come visit. Whenever I've seen them, Mackenzie was pretty clingy with Jodi. She was that way at first but eventually started opening up to us and playing. It was really neat to see her playing. She kept looking at DJ and trying to give him her books. It seemed like she was trying to figure out why he wasn't talking, walking or playing with her. DJ slept through most of the visit. It will be great when he's a little older and can somewhat play with her. It was such a great time catching up with Jodi. If we transfer from here, I will miss her so much.
I am starting my walking routine everyday with DJ this week. I am going to just take him for at least 1/2 hour walk around our apartment complex. I need to get myself back into exercising and this seems like a perfect way. Hopefully the rain stays away so I can keep it up. I am hoping to get together this weekend with the family I used to nanny. I haven't seen them since November and really want to see how much Hayden has changed. They need to meet DJ as well.
I have been doing some research about what I could do to make some extra money without having to go back to "work." I found this online scrapbooking store that you can become a demonstrator to host workshops and sell their products. I would receive a commission from my sales. I'm going to meet with this lady who does this so I can learn some more about the program. I'm hoping it works out because we wouldn't have to put DJ into daycare and I could still make money. I'm meeting her Friday afternoon so I will update how that goes next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Scrapbook Slide Show
If you didn't notice already, I added more pages to my scrapbook slide show. I added the beginning to my baby album and a few more about our cross country trip. Check them out. I'm waiting for the pictures to begin D.J.'s birth and first week pages. In the meantime, I'm finally starting our wedding album. It's only been 2 years since we've gotten married but I'm excited to work on it and remember all the fun we had on that day!! Hopefully I can continue to get a lot done like I have in the last couple of weeks. Enjoy the new pages and let me know what you think about them.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
First Smile!!
I was laying on the bed after feeding him Monday and was playing with D.J. I started saying hi and smiling at him. It took him a few times of him staring at me, but he eventually started copying me. He was making noises and smiling!! I couldn't believe it. I continued to repeat what I was doing and he kept going. I called Dave in and he did it when Dave did the same thing. It was the cutest thing. I kept thinking that it couldn't be a smile but he continues to do it when I say hi to him. I haven't gotten a picture or video of it yet but will try to this week so everyone can see. It really is the cutest thing he's doing right now.
Monday, January 11, 2010
First Sick Scare
D.J. wake up Sunday morning with a pinkish tint to his pee. We called the doctors office and spoke to a nurse. She thought that it might have something to do with my infection and antibiotics I was taking but suggested calling for an appointment Monday. He continued to be pretty tired most of the day and sleeping in our arms. We started noticing before every feeding he hadn't peed either. This was completely not normal for him. He had only pooped in the morning which was even weirder. I was beyond nervous because he went about 12 hours without peeing or pooping. Dave fed him a bottle at 10. We decided if he didn't pee after that we would go to the emergency room. Luckily he ended up peeing which eased some of my worry. He woke up with a small amount of pee but I still wanted to be seen to make sure nothing serious was wrong.
We saw the doctor and D.J. checked out fine. His weight was 8lbs. 14oz. which is normal weight gain for him. The doctor said that he's dehydrated that could be from my infection. That could have affected my milk for a few days. He wasn't too concerned since his weight gain was good. He suggested to give him a few more bottles if he doesn't seem to be taking to the boob as much and also trying to feed him a little more often. He usually feeds every 3 hours so I'm trying every 2-3 hours until he seems to be back to normal.
I am noticing a change already though. He's pooped 2 times since his doctors appointment and peed more often. I didn't have to hold him for any of his naps today!! I put him in the swing this morning so I could get ready for the doctors. When we got home from the doctors we both laid down in our bed after his feeding. He ended up falling asleep without me holding him. His next nap I put him down while he was tired but still awake. The doctor said we could start trying this and if he doesn't sleep to go ahead and pick him back up. He's still too young to let him go too long by himself but letting him try to fall asleep on his own is a good start. He looked around for a little then started whining so I gave him his pacifier. That ended up settling him down for a nap. He didn't last long but it was time for a feeding anyways so I didn't mind. When Dave got home he had just finished a feeding and was a little cranky. Dave put him down and he was awake for awhile before falling asleep. Unfortunately he seems to like falling asleep with his pacifier. I'm noticing once that falls out he wakes up looking for it to be put back in his mouth. It will be nice once he's able to do that for himself. I'm hoping him not feeling well is why he hasn't wanted to sleep in his bed. Let's hope he will sleep in his bed for a little tonight so we can both get a little better sleep.
We saw the doctor and D.J. checked out fine. His weight was 8lbs. 14oz. which is normal weight gain for him. The doctor said that he's dehydrated that could be from my infection. That could have affected my milk for a few days. He wasn't too concerned since his weight gain was good. He suggested to give him a few more bottles if he doesn't seem to be taking to the boob as much and also trying to feed him a little more often. He usually feeds every 3 hours so I'm trying every 2-3 hours until he seems to be back to normal.
I am noticing a change already though. He's pooped 2 times since his doctors appointment and peed more often. I didn't have to hold him for any of his naps today!! I put him in the swing this morning so I could get ready for the doctors. When we got home from the doctors we both laid down in our bed after his feeding. He ended up falling asleep without me holding him. His next nap I put him down while he was tired but still awake. The doctor said we could start trying this and if he doesn't sleep to go ahead and pick him back up. He's still too young to let him go too long by himself but letting him try to fall asleep on his own is a good start. He looked around for a little then started whining so I gave him his pacifier. That ended up settling him down for a nap. He didn't last long but it was time for a feeding anyways so I didn't mind. When Dave got home he had just finished a feeding and was a little cranky. Dave put him down and he was awake for awhile before falling asleep. Unfortunately he seems to like falling asleep with his pacifier. I'm noticing once that falls out he wakes up looking for it to be put back in his mouth. It will be nice once he's able to do that for himself. I'm hoping him not feeling well is why he hasn't wanted to sleep in his bed. Let's hope he will sleep in his bed for a little tonight so we can both get a little better sleep.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Sleeping
Well this ended up being a long week. Last weekend my parents flew home. D.J. did not seem to adjust well to getting back to our so called schedule we had before my parents came out. The problem we had is that we spent most of the days at my sisters place. That meant we didn't have anywhere to put him down when he fell asleep, which meant that someone held him pretty much the whole time. That was for 2 weeks straight and I think he got used to that. Since then he has been refusing to stay asleep when we put him down in his crib. Before we would rock him to sleep then lay him down. Now every time we try to put him down, he wakes up immediately and starts flipping out. So it was a LONG weekend of trying to get him to sleep and most of the time just having him sleep in our arms so we could get some rest ourselves. Plus Dave had to go back to work so I didn't want to have to keep him up at night so I was the one taking care of D.J during those early morning hours.
I have been reading and researching nonstop to get some help with this issue. Everything I have read says that this is normal and not to stress too much about it. I shouldn't start worrying until at least 4 months when we can start sleeping learning. That is the time we will teach him to fall asleep on his own in his own bed. I was worried that this was going to be a habit. I read that he is too young to learn bad habits like this. That made me feel better about letting him sleep in our arms. I also read that we should just keep trying to put him down so he can get used to it again. I'm hoping this helps. The swing has been wonderful as well to give us a break. Last night we did have a small breakthrough though.
I have been finally pumping enough milk that Dave can give him a bottle. Dave decided to take the late night feeding, most of the time around 1am. After drinking from the bottle, D.J. is passed out pretty hard core. I decided to try to swaddle him and put him in his bed. We have been having problems swaddling so I wasn't sure if that was going to work either. I wanted to try though because I think all the movement when he lays down wakes him up so I was hoping the swaddle would eliminate that. I read to leave one of his arms out now at this age so he can use it to soothe himself a little. After I swaddled him he continued to sleep so I laid him down and he didn't wake immediately! It didn't last long but it was a much needed 30 minutes in his bed!!! I'm going to continue to try to put him down like that and see how it goes. I always have the swing. :)
So we haven't been doing much but trying to adjust back to the 3 of us. I ended up waking up Friday morning with a 102 temperature. Luckily the doctors were able to see me first thing in the morning. Dave was able to come home after checking into work so I didn't have to take D.J. with me. As soon as the doc saw me she knew I had a bacterial infection in my breasts that was causing my temperature and pain. She prescribed an antibiotic and said everything is safe for the baby to continue to breastfeed. That made me feel better cause I was soooo worried about giving D.J. something. Most of the time it's so hard for him to get something from me since my milk gives him the antibodies my body is producing to fight the bug. I was pretty exhausted Friday and took a lot out of me. Dave was the best though and allowed me to catch up on sleep until I had to feed him. Having him feed a bottle during the late night feeding helped sooo much as well. As soon as I was done pumping I went right back to sleep. That was probably the best sleep I've gotten at night since his birth. It definitely helped because I woke up Saturday feeling so much better. I took over with D.J. so Dave could catch up with some of his sleep. He did that again for me last night which really seems to help. Unfortunately he's got to work so I'll be taking over tonight getting him to sleep at night. Keep your fingers crossed for us that he continues to sleep longer and longer in his own bed. I will post how this week goes.
I have been reading and researching nonstop to get some help with this issue. Everything I have read says that this is normal and not to stress too much about it. I shouldn't start worrying until at least 4 months when we can start sleeping learning. That is the time we will teach him to fall asleep on his own in his own bed. I was worried that this was going to be a habit. I read that he is too young to learn bad habits like this. That made me feel better about letting him sleep in our arms. I also read that we should just keep trying to put him down so he can get used to it again. I'm hoping this helps. The swing has been wonderful as well to give us a break. Last night we did have a small breakthrough though.
I have been finally pumping enough milk that Dave can give him a bottle. Dave decided to take the late night feeding, most of the time around 1am. After drinking from the bottle, D.J. is passed out pretty hard core. I decided to try to swaddle him and put him in his bed. We have been having problems swaddling so I wasn't sure if that was going to work either. I wanted to try though because I think all the movement when he lays down wakes him up so I was hoping the swaddle would eliminate that. I read to leave one of his arms out now at this age so he can use it to soothe himself a little. After I swaddled him he continued to sleep so I laid him down and he didn't wake immediately! It didn't last long but it was a much needed 30 minutes in his bed!!! I'm going to continue to try to put him down like that and see how it goes. I always have the swing. :)
So we haven't been doing much but trying to adjust back to the 3 of us. I ended up waking up Friday morning with a 102 temperature. Luckily the doctors were able to see me first thing in the morning. Dave was able to come home after checking into work so I didn't have to take D.J. with me. As soon as the doc saw me she knew I had a bacterial infection in my breasts that was causing my temperature and pain. She prescribed an antibiotic and said everything is safe for the baby to continue to breastfeed. That made me feel better cause I was soooo worried about giving D.J. something. Most of the time it's so hard for him to get something from me since my milk gives him the antibodies my body is producing to fight the bug. I was pretty exhausted Friday and took a lot out of me. Dave was the best though and allowed me to catch up on sleep until I had to feed him. Having him feed a bottle during the late night feeding helped sooo much as well. As soon as I was done pumping I went right back to sleep. That was probably the best sleep I've gotten at night since his birth. It definitely helped because I woke up Saturday feeling so much better. I took over with D.J. so Dave could catch up with some of his sleep. He did that again for me last night which really seems to help. Unfortunately he's got to work so I'll be taking over tonight getting him to sleep at night. Keep your fingers crossed for us that he continues to sleep longer and longer in his own bed. I will post how this week goes.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Lots of News
I realized that I haven't posted anything in over 3 weeks. There has been so much that has happened that I hope I remember to write. I'll talk about D.J. first.
He has had 2 doctors appointments since my last post. His first appointment was his 2 week one. He ended up gaining back his birth weight which is right on track. The doctor suggested I change how I breastfeed a little to help him gain faster. I was letting him drink for 20-30 minutes from one breast. According to that doctor, having him feed 10-15 on both boobs will help him gain weight a little quicker. At first I was a little annoyed because I felt like I was just getting used to breastfeeding and now I had to change everything and kind of start over. Plus I was afraid what that was going to do to my milk supply. But I wanted to try it for my son. The doctor also showed us how to correctly rub his eye to help open his tear duct. Other than that he checked out great for that appointment. The next appointment was for his 1 month check up. His measurements are weight: 8lbs 3oz and height 22.5in. He measures 25% in height and his head measurement and 75-90% in height. They say you can't predict anything until they are 3 but we are keeping our fingers crossed he continues to grow lengthwise and be a tall boy! The doctor looked at his big toes and gave us some suggestions to help. His nails weren't growing over the skin and was causing some blood under them. The doctor said that it looks like it had fixed itself but told us to try clipping the nail after a bath to help it grow correctly. He checked out great and will go back when he's 2 months for the dreaded shots :(
I'm going to take a picture with the pig each month to show his growth.
I cannot believe that it's been a month already. I can definitely understand how everyone says how quickly they grow. Within that month we celebrated his first Christmas. My family was able to be come out here and spoil him. We decided to do a grab bag instead of buying for everyone. The funny thing is that everyone ended up getting each other gift cards since no one knew what they really wanted. My brother gave me and Dave the best gift. We are planning on flying home to Pittsburgh in March and he's going to buy us our round trip flights. With a new baby, we couldn't have asked for a better gift. I tried telling my family not to buy much for D.J. since he won't remember any of it. I think he ended up having more presents to open than the rest of us. He got a bunch of books from my sister. My mom bought probably every first baby ornament that was out there. He received a Steeler blanket and basketball bath toy. It was a great Christmas. The best part is that my mom brought out a Santa outfit for D.J. to wear. We ended up stuffing it to make him look like he had a belly. We pretty much tortured him to get pictures.
We had a great turkey/ham dinner. That night we played different board games with the fam and our friends Jen and Aaron. It truly was a great first Christmas as a family. We are looking forward to starting traditions with D.J. next year.
Sad part of our holiday was finding out that our Grandmother passed Christmas Eve morning. She had Alzheimer's and was getting worse and worse the last couple of months. We pretty much knew it was coming but it was still pretty hard hearing the news. I felt bad for my mom since she was out here and couldn't be there for my Grandpa. She thought about flying home but my Grandpa insisted on her staying here. They are having the funeral next weekend when they are back. My siblings are flying home for it but unfortunately I won't be able to with D.J. being so young. My family understands and we will plan something when we go home in March. I know that my Grandma is in heaven watching over us.
We also got to celebrate the New Year as a family. We didn't do much, just went to my sisters and hung with my parents. The best part was that D.J. was actually awake to see the ball drop. It truly was a great end to our 2009. I'm looking forward to 2010 and seeing our boy change and grow so much.
My parents left this morning. It was so great to see them with D.J. They are the happiest grandparents with their first grandchild. I know he will be loved and spoiled by them. My mom is already planning on coming back in February now that she is retired. It was hard for them to leave. It was cute because they kept asking if they could take him home with them. These are times I wish we lived closer.
The other great thing the last 2 weeks is that Dave's work ended up giving them time off for the holiday. He was supposed to have to work up until Christmas and then again until New Year. When he was on baby leave, they changed their minds and gave them almost 2 weeks off. He just had to go in 3 days to check in. That was great time we got to spend as a family. I know he appreciated being able to spend more time with D.J. and so did I. It was a quick 2 weeks and sucks he has to go back to work this week. We don't have much planned for the weekend. We watched the bowl games today. We are just going to relax and enjoy the last few days the rest of the weekend.
He has had 2 doctors appointments since my last post. His first appointment was his 2 week one. He ended up gaining back his birth weight which is right on track. The doctor suggested I change how I breastfeed a little to help him gain faster. I was letting him drink for 20-30 minutes from one breast. According to that doctor, having him feed 10-15 on both boobs will help him gain weight a little quicker. At first I was a little annoyed because I felt like I was just getting used to breastfeeding and now I had to change everything and kind of start over. Plus I was afraid what that was going to do to my milk supply. But I wanted to try it for my son. The doctor also showed us how to correctly rub his eye to help open his tear duct. Other than that he checked out great for that appointment. The next appointment was for his 1 month check up. His measurements are weight: 8lbs 3oz and height 22.5in. He measures 25% in height and his head measurement and 75-90% in height. They say you can't predict anything until they are 3 but we are keeping our fingers crossed he continues to grow lengthwise and be a tall boy! The doctor looked at his big toes and gave us some suggestions to help. His nails weren't growing over the skin and was causing some blood under them. The doctor said that it looks like it had fixed itself but told us to try clipping the nail after a bath to help it grow correctly. He checked out great and will go back when he's 2 months for the dreaded shots :(
I'm going to take a picture with the pig each month to show his growth.
I cannot believe that it's been a month already. I can definitely understand how everyone says how quickly they grow. Within that month we celebrated his first Christmas. My family was able to be come out here and spoil him. We decided to do a grab bag instead of buying for everyone. The funny thing is that everyone ended up getting each other gift cards since no one knew what they really wanted. My brother gave me and Dave the best gift. We are planning on flying home to Pittsburgh in March and he's going to buy us our round trip flights. With a new baby, we couldn't have asked for a better gift. I tried telling my family not to buy much for D.J. since he won't remember any of it. I think he ended up having more presents to open than the rest of us. He got a bunch of books from my sister. My mom bought probably every first baby ornament that was out there. He received a Steeler blanket and basketball bath toy. It was a great Christmas. The best part is that my mom brought out a Santa outfit for D.J. to wear. We ended up stuffing it to make him look like he had a belly. We pretty much tortured him to get pictures.
We had a great turkey/ham dinner. That night we played different board games with the fam and our friends Jen and Aaron. It truly was a great first Christmas as a family. We are looking forward to starting traditions with D.J. next year.
Sad part of our holiday was finding out that our Grandmother passed Christmas Eve morning. She had Alzheimer's and was getting worse and worse the last couple of months. We pretty much knew it was coming but it was still pretty hard hearing the news. I felt bad for my mom since she was out here and couldn't be there for my Grandpa. She thought about flying home but my Grandpa insisted on her staying here. They are having the funeral next weekend when they are back. My siblings are flying home for it but unfortunately I won't be able to with D.J. being so young. My family understands and we will plan something when we go home in March. I know that my Grandma is in heaven watching over us.
We also got to celebrate the New Year as a family. We didn't do much, just went to my sisters and hung with my parents. The best part was that D.J. was actually awake to see the ball drop. It truly was a great end to our 2009. I'm looking forward to 2010 and seeing our boy change and grow so much.
My parents left this morning. It was so great to see them with D.J. They are the happiest grandparents with their first grandchild. I know he will be loved and spoiled by them. My mom is already planning on coming back in February now that she is retired. It was hard for them to leave. It was cute because they kept asking if they could take him home with them. These are times I wish we lived closer.
The other great thing the last 2 weeks is that Dave's work ended up giving them time off for the holiday. He was supposed to have to work up until Christmas and then again until New Year. When he was on baby leave, they changed their minds and gave them almost 2 weeks off. He just had to go in 3 days to check in. That was great time we got to spend as a family. I know he appreciated being able to spend more time with D.J. and so did I. It was a quick 2 weeks and sucks he has to go back to work this week. We don't have much planned for the weekend. We watched the bowl games today. We are just going to relax and enjoy the last few days the rest of the weekend.
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