4 Months

Hunter turned 4 months old on September 17, and I actually took the whole day from work to spend with him. NOT. I wish that was the reason! I actually took him to his 4 month appointment, and since we was so miserable after his 2 month vaccines, I wanted to spend the rest of the day making sure he was ok.

Hunter is a whopping 25 inches long and 13 pounds and 12 ounces. He seems so tall, but he is only in the 50th percentile for height. Maybe he seems tall because he is only in the 17th percentile for weight, so he seems long?

Look at my long boy!

Hunter was such a trooper at his appointment, though, and I actually did get to enjoy the remainder of the day with him! He only cried after the 2nd shot, and that was just for a few seconds. We also got the green light to start solids. I confessed that I had already been putting rice in his bedtime bottle, and he was doing well with it. She said that we could start real food! I rushed to the store and bought some carrots, bananas, apples, and green beans. The pediatrician said that as long as there is just one fruit or vegetable ingredient, that it would be ok! We started with bananas, and while he did eat them, he acted like they were kind of sour! When Tim tried them, he said that it tasted nothing like a banana. The next day I tried carrots, and he LOVED them! He ate half a 'tub' (we didn't buy the glass jars because the tubs with lids look so easy to wash and reuse!), and I saved the rest for the next night. You are supposed to only introduce one new food every 3-4 days to make sure they don't have an allergy, but I let that go because he didn't seem to want to eat the bananas the first night, and I didn't want to force it the next night, too! Here is my handsome carrot face boy:

We are also sleep trained! I mean mostly sleep trained. I should have done it a while ago, but I loved him being close to me. We moved him to his crib, and he did great at first, then got worse, then he go sick. Stuffy nose, coughing in his sleep, kind of sick. My. Poor. Baby. He was moved back to the swing so that he could be rocked to sleep and stay in an elevated position. When he finally cleared up enough, we moved back to the crib in his room. We elevated the mattress with a towel so that he would still be propped up a little, and he little sinuses would drain better. I also decided that I would finally try the dreaded 'cry it out' method. While I have been unsuccessful in the past due to my knowledge of him crying, I found a method that works much more effectively for Hunter and I. Trust me, he doesn't cry long, if at all. Here is a pic I snapped after my alarm woke me back up after 10 minutes:

Keep in mind that we KNOW that he can sleep through the night with out food. He had done it for 2 months, and then slowly started waking up more, and even when I would feed him, he was only eating and ounce or two. I still put him to sleep the usual way, with me feeding him while rocking, and gently transferring my sleeping baby to the crib. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, I would usually rush in there and tend to him. NOW I turn off my monitor in the room, and turn my phone alarm to wake me up in 10 minutes. When I wake back up, he is already back to sleep. One night, he was NOT back to sleep and was screaming his head off, I went in there, and all it took was a pacifier and putting my hand on his chest, kind of rubbing/rocking back to sleep. I never picked him up. He was out in about 30 seconds, and slept the rest of the night. So far, so good!!

I mentioned above that Hunter had his first cold. That is more than sad, and all you want to do is blow their little nose for them. Well, actually, I have a nosefrida, so I kinda do blow his nose for him, but hearing him so stuffed up, holding him while he coughs, and feeling his 102.7 fever is so not fun. Now I know what my mom was talking about when she would tell me that she wished she could just be sick for me. Those nights, he would start in the crib, then when he woke up, I would suck out his nose, and then let him snuggle with me in bed. I tried to snap a picture of us cuddling (yes, I am pretending to sleep to 'recreate' the moment....), that was the only bonus of him being sick.

Hunter is still NOT rolling over. He has, I even have it on video, but has not done it since about 7 weeks old. He doesn't even want to try to roll from his back to his belly! Why would he want to do that? He just lays there all lounged out, and relaxes. I have a feeling that he will wake up one day, want to move to something, and roll over and over to get there, but for now, he just wants to lay around and relax. Or cry when he is totally over tummy time.

Speaking of tummy time, Hunter is doing so much better! He can even last 15 minutes sometimes! Look, I even got a tummy time smile:

He LOVES his exer-saucer! We picked one up at Once Upon A Child, and he can sit in there for 30 minutes at a time, spinning in circles, playing with each little station. He still hits most of the buttons by accident, or at least not with a definite, "I want to push this button, so I am going to", but he definitely hits them a lot! It has more of a, "I want to play with this toy, so I'm gonna slide my hand all over it, and try to make it sing to me", kind of feel, lol!

He is so good about being out of the house now. I have been able to grocery shop without worrying about him starting to scream, go to the mall countless times, and have long dinners and lunches out of the house with friends.

Due to a lost camera :( (sniff, sniff...that is for another post), there are limited pictures of this month (and the low quality ones are from my phone):

Here is a picture of Hunter all lounged out:

Some mornings he is just so cute, I don't want to go to work:

Sitting up in the stroller like a big boy:

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3 Months

I was going to spare you the line where I am in disbelief that Hunter is as old as he is, but.... I just CAN'T believe Hunter is THREE months old! He is no longer a newborn, I have to look at the 3-6 month forum on TheBump.com, and we are only one month away from adding rice cereal to his meals. Oh. My. Word.

Time, please slow down just a tad!

In Hunter's 3rd month, he ended his trip up north in Washington and Montana, came home just to drive all the way to Florida! He is one well traveled baby!

This month has been pretty big for him, not just because of his travels, but he has also been switched almost totally to formula. It started with me eating chocolate cake in Montana, and him having two fussy days after that. Then I started researching fussy breastfed babies, and it could be an number of things: milk imbalance, mommy's bad diet, milk protein intolerance, etc. After more and more gassy tummy and fussy days, I tried Similac Sensitive. After a day, he was a different baby. Happy and content to just sit and watch his world, even out of mommy's hands! As much as love to hold my little man, I need to get some things done around the house, too! I am still pumping, and saving the milk to add to his formula, he seems to enjoy these bottles more, and I still know that he is getting good stuff from my milk. I at least want to get through flu season, since he will be too young for the shot.

He has started playing more, he waves his hands all around and kicks his feet like its his job. Seriously, he has the most serious face, and just kicks as hard as he can! It is especially fun in the bath tub! He can also get his favorite toy right into his mouth!

He can get his fist directly into his mouth and suck away. Like, all day long.

He is also drooling and making plenty of spit bubbles. Check out the drool that hangs from his mouth to  my knee.

He is learning to fall asleep on his own.

He wore his first size 3-6 month article of clothing. He still mostly wears 0-3, but I am about to pack them away because they are getting too short for him! Carter's clothes shrink up a bunch!

He got cool new sunglasses.

He is a bumbo-ing fool. One day, he didn't want to sit on the floor in his bumbo while I did dishes (does anyone else feel like they wash bottles ALL. DAY. LONG?). I made a risky move and moved the bumbo to the counter right next to the sink while I did the dishes. He sat and just watched, lol! Keep in mind, I kept my eye on him the whole time, and pretty much did the dishes by feel so I could keep my eye on him. Also, ignore the knife block on the counter right behind him....

He is starting to like his car seat. I mean tolerate it. For short time spans. If he's in the right mood. Sometimes.

He talks like a crazy person. 

The boy still loves him some naked time! Seriously, he loves it! I think he gets hot pretty easily, so the cool fabrics behind him and the fan on his belly probably feel pretty good. Like when a dog lays on the cool tile, haha!

He is loving his new tub!

He slept in his crib for the first night, and slept almost 10 hours. I heard him on the monitor (just talking away), and started getting his bottle put together, then I looked at the clock and couldn't believe it! I looked at all the clocks on the way to his room just to be sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me! I was a little sad because I like him being close to me at night, but it was also just one more step in him growing up, and I didn't think I was ready for it. After one night where I got 8 consecutive hours of sleep, and I am singing a different tune! The next two nights was not as successful, he slept in 4-5 hour chunks, but then the fourth night he slept 8 hours. I am hoping to get him back to his normal sleep times by the time school starts (I mean when the students start). We have a week!

He spent his first week away from mommy during the days. I started back to work to set up my classroom, and he spent the day at nana's house with her and their nanny, Elba. It is hard for me to not be there to make even those small decisions throughout the day. I feel like every time I go to pick him up or drop him off I have yet another request for things that I want for him through out the day. I feel like I am coming off as a crazy mom, but there are some things that I KNOW are important to either get done or not happen during the day.

He also LAUGHED for the first time! Lots of times he will smile and make a laugh noise, but one day my mom was sitting him up and talking to him, and he laughed.... then again.... then I got out my camera. Only, something messed up (maybe I accidentally covered the speaker?), and all you can hear me say in a really high pitched voice is. "Make him laugh again!"... then he does... only the video is silent during that part, then you hear us all say, "That was a GOOD laugh!!". So I have proof... kinda!

There are so many more fun things that happened this month, but it is so hard to keep up with it all!

He is still wearing all 0-3 month clothes, but they are slowly starting to get moved to the, "Too Small" box behind his glider. Most of the 3-6 month stuff is too big and looks silly, but I think pretty soon he will move up.

He is wearing size 2 diapers. This is almost partly because he pees so much and the size 2 holds it all much better. They are a tad too big so he will probably wear these for a while! He weighs about 12.5 to 13 pounds, but is still looking pretty long and lean. Don't get me wrong, he has some chunky spots poppin up, but the length is also there for sure!!

I love my little man so much! I still am in the newborn phase where I just stare at him and wonder why and how I was given such a beautiful baby boy. 
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2 months!

So, I have officially decided to only do monthly updates on the Hunt-man, because I get so busy that weekly updates are getting away from me! These past two weeks Hunter and I have been on vacation, so we have been just going, going, going! This update and picture is a week overdue, so he is actually two months and one week, but that's ok. 


As for Hunter.... he is doing AMAZING!

I don't know why it wouldn't let me take the red eyes out :(

Sleep- he is consistently sleeping the first stretch 6-7 hours... even on vacation! Now that I am seeing his sleep cues, I am able to get him down for lots of naps, ranging from 45 minutes to 2 hours per day. Sometimes, we will get a 3 hour nap in during the day, but that is not the norm! The first few days on vacation were hard for him sleep-wise, but I can't blame him! He was in a new house, filled with about 20 people running around, AND it stayed bright light until about 9:45-10:00 at night. Who wants to sleep when it looks like playtime?


Car Seat- This is still an issue, which was kind of terrible on vacation since we were going non stop! We would spend whole days out of the house going from store to store, we even drove a six hour trip! He pretty much needs to be full, clean, and dry when he gets put in the car seat, swung or kind of shaken/bounced on the way out to the car, and then get to driving pretty much the second he gets clipped in. This will mean that he can ride happily for a while, and then he may fall asleep or get bored/hungry and start to cry. I mean scream. This is a work in progress that I hope can get better before the 10 hour drive to Florida in August!


Eating- He is nursing so well! One day when we were out and about, I forgot his pre-pumped bottles and had to nurse him during the day, sometimes in public (with a cover, of course!), and he did wonderful! When he does drink from a bottle he eats 4 ounces. He has been at 4 ounces for a while, so I fill it to about 4.5 or sometimes 5 ounces, but he doesn't usually finish it or he does and then he starts to spit up and I know he ate too much.


Alertness/Awake Time- He is SO alert! We get comments on it pretty much everyday about how alert he is, how pretty his eyes are, and how well he holds up his head. This is probably because he likes to be held on your shoulder, which kind of draws attention when you are pushing a stroller or shopping cart and holding him like that. Also, he still looks pretty small to be holding his head up so well in that position, which means we are constantly getting stopped and asked how old he is. 

This is how he likes to be held all day, lol!

Tummy Time- This is NOT going so well. He hates it! I got a good idea from my cousin, and she said her doctor told her to try to do it after every diaper change, so he will get in at least a tiny bit here and there all day. Definitely going to try that and will hopefully have a better report on this next month!


Play Time- He is getting so darn social! He loves to smile, and some mornings he wakes up so happy that I swear he does a laugh as I unswaddle him! He likes to smile at high pitched sounds, and can sometimes be tickled just a little bit. 


At his two week appointment, which actually took place at 7 weeks, he got his vaccines which literally BROKE. MY. HEART. He had to have one oral vaccine, and that was okay. Then he had to have three shots in his tiny little legs. I couldn't watch, and I am so thankful that Tim went with us. He was as sad about it as I was, but was able to help calm him down. He didn't feel very well for about 2-3 days after, and needed Tylenol to keep his mild fever down. That afternoon, though, he would just kind of seem in pain. His little legs hurt him, and he was telling me by stopping eating and just whimpering. I felt so bad. I had moved the appointment up so that he could have his vaccines before getting on the airplane, and even though it was only a few days early, I felt very guilty and like a bad mommy. 


His appointment also gave us new measurements, and we all know how much I like updated measurements! He weighed 10 pounds and 11 ounces; and is 23 inches long. He is in the 25th percentile for height, 25th for weight, and 35th for head circumference. I feel like he is big because of how rapidly he is growing! Two inches longer in just two months?! I know he must be on the smaller side because of his percentiles, but many people comment on how he looks long and lean, so I am curious to see how the next appointment goes!
Here are some of his silly faces from our mini photo shoot:

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Hunter: 6 and 7 Weeks

This week Hunter turned 7 weeks old! I can't believe how much he has changed in 7 weeks, it really just amazes me! 


Due to having a freak out momma, he has been to the doctor a few more times than usual. We went at 2 and a half weeks because I thought he had an eye infection, it was really just blocked tear ducts. We went at 3 weeks because daddy had a staph infection and Hunter woke up one morning with a red dot on his chin. That one turned out just to be a red dot. We also went at 6 weeks because mommy was convinced he has acid reflux due to a sudden start of spitting up and being more fussy than usual (is that possible?) She gave us a prescription for Prevacid, and we gave it for a few days, then quit because his behavior didn't change while on the medicine, but it has changed since taking him off! If he starts to get fussy after a feeding like maybe he has 'heartburn', I give him a tiny bit of Maalox, and that usually gets him to quiet down and relax. 


Going to the doctor more often than usual gives us pretty accurate weight updates, though, and I do like that! At 6 weeks he officially weighs 9 pounds and 8 ounces, which is exactly three pounds up from his birth weight. I think with the next one, I will make sure to embrace the tiny-ness of the first few weeks, because Hunter has grown up so fast. I know, I keep saying that, and one day I will blink and he will be 18, but he really is just growing up before my eyes! 


He has started rolling over more consistently, I even have it on video now! Not that I want to show anyone, he is a crying mess and it makes me so sad and look like the worst mommy ever! He had rolled over twice happily, and then I ran to get the camera just in time to catch the third time when he had clearly had enough tummy time!


He is so alert now when he is awake! Each week he has been more and more alert, but his big blue eyes just look all around the room, usually at windows and light fixtures. He still loves to be on your shoulder, which may have to do with his possible acid reflux since gravity works in his favor when on my shoulder. He holds his head up like a champ, and can keep it up forever when he is looking around on your shoulder!


He is getting to much better at getting dressed. He has never liked getting dressed and undressed, but now he can stand it.... don't take too long, but if you're quick he will be happy from start to finish! Does any baby like to get dressed?


I think he is growing new hair underneath all of his baby fuzz. When he was born, he had an old man style receding hairline going on, but now underneath all of that and up front he has tiny brown hairs growing in that you can see when the light hits it just right. 


Sleeping has gotten much better at night! He gives us between a 4 and 5 hour stretch when we first put him down, then 2-3 hour stretches after that. I have read that it is very common for the first chunk of sleep to be longer than the rest of the night so he is right on track. Now that I am better at picking up on his sleepy signals, he is also napping on a pretty good schedule. He has a pretty consistent sleep, eat, awake pattern which means that he is going about 3 to 4 hours in between feedings during the day. He also is a huge fan of all the white noise. No longer does he sleep through anything like in the newborn days! He needs peace and quiet in a darkish room with some sort of white noise... be it a hair dryer, vacuum, bathwater running, or his sleep sheep! We even bought another mini sleep sheep to put on his car seat! We have a pretty good routine in the mornings where he wakes up, eats, is awake for a while, then when I see the first sign of a yawn or heavy eyelids, I swaddle him put him in the bouncer on vibrate, then do dishes with the water running and I bounce him with my foot. Usually, by the time dishes are done, he is asleep! 


For the past few nights (almost 7 weeks old), he has given us 6-7 hour stretches for the first part of the night! I cannot believe how much better I feel in the mornings and throughout the day when he does this! The other day, he slept from 8:15 until 2:15, then until 4:30, then I let him nurse while laying down in bed, and he slept for a while, woke up after a while (not sure of the time), and then we switched sides and he did the same and slept until 8! I woke up before him, and that is a first for us!


I have discovered a new type of swaddle since I have a little Houdini on my hands! He always manages to get his hands out of the bottom and I can tell that is exactly what wakes him up. He used to grunt and groan and fight that darn swadddle, but with this new style he keeps that to a minimum. I am sure that this is what is accounting for our long sleeps at night! 


During his 6th week of life he started to socially smile! He has already smiled a few times at me and Tim, and once at the fan.... he loves that thing! I am so ready for him to start interacting and smiling as a result of being happy. I think this will help take him out of his fussy days. He is probably not what you would call a 'fussy' baby, but he is a pretty high needs/high maintenance baby. He likes to be held over the shoulder, hates any carried that I have put him in, and has started NOT falling asleep in the carseat. This means it is really hard to get any errands done. I used to rely on him falling asleep on the way, then sleeping through my errands. Lately, he has been waking up which has left me either bottle feeding him in the car seat in the cart, or going to a dressing room to nurse (yes, my errands usually have dressing rooms, lol!). The biggest problem is that he doesn't like to just..... 'be'. Once he is awake, no matter how clean, dry, and full he is, he still will fuss to get out of the car seat! I know it will get better, but I am ready for that day to get here!


Here is a photo dump, I have gotten in the habit of just snapping away while at home, but when we do things that need documenting, I forget to take pictures! I will try to get better about that!


Week 6:

With Brynna, she is two weeks younger

Supposed to be his home from the hospital outfit, but he was way too tiny!

Lost his shoe!

His 0-3 month clothes

week 7:

mid-roll!

looking at daddy's fish

He is starting to enjoy his crib :)

Starting to smile!!

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