This new mommy needs help.

So I have a question for all you moms out there. Drew will be 4 months old tomorrow and I had thought about starting rice cereal this week since I'll be home the rest of the week from school. Is this too young? We were going to stick with rice cereal for about 3-4 weeks and then introduce baby food around the end of January. He was doing really well sleeping through the night about 3 weeks ago, and ten all of a sudden, the last 3 weeks he's been getting up 1-2 times a night. We don't have to feed him or anything, we are able to just walk in and put the paci back in his mouth and usually he falls back asleep. Sometimes we have to go in a 2nd time about 5 minutes later, but then he falls asleep. I thought it might have been teething, but I've tried orajel before bedtime and also tylenol and he still wakes up. So maybe it's not being quite full enough? Anyway, let me know what you think about starting the cereal this week!! This new mommy needs some answers!

Family Pictures

We got our family pictures done and I have to say, they turned out really well. We only got these two done, but I love them!

Our perfect little present!

The first family picture!

3 Months Old

Supporting my mommy's home state!



I can't believe the little man is already 3 months old. Time has absolutely flown by. We don't go to the doctor again till after Christmas to get more shots, but I may be making an appointment this week. Drew has been fighting his bottles for the last week and it's getting very frustrating. He may eat an ounce and then turn his head quickly which makes the bottle pop out. He'll cry and then suck on the bottle for dear life once it goes back in, turn his head again about 3 seconds later and cry and repeat the cycle. I have no idea what's going on. He was doing great on 5 ounces every 3 hours and then all of a sudden, he barely eats 4 and it's a struggle to get him to eat that four.

My stepmom and stepsister keep trying to tell me that I need to go longer between feedings and that he's not hungry every 3 hours. Well we've tried that. Even after he sleeps through the night, sometimes 10 hours, he still fights the bottle. So it's not that. We tried different formula yesterday and that hasn't helped either. My stepmom says he's probably teething. He is drooling a bit more, but not a lot, he blows a lot of bubbles, but he's not more fussy than normal. So I just don't know. He's also been having major diaper explosions. For 4 days in a row he has exploded out of his diaper. I mean up the back and everything.

If you have any advice on what to do to help ease the frustration of Mike and I and/or help Drew not fight his bottle, it would be greatly appreciated.

His smile makes me melt...

This little man right here just makes me smile every time he looks at me with those big blue eyes!!

Ahhh....sleep...

Well, we've had major success two nights in a row. Friday night Drew slept from 9-7:30. And he wasn't really crying when he woke up at 7:30 either. Just talking to himself. He did the same thing last night, but slept till 8:00. Mike said when he went into get him, he had rolled over onto his back and was just looking around. Drew is also "talking" a lot more as well. He's such a good little baby. He's moved on to eating 5 oz at each bottle. I also can't believe how long he is. He could more than likely wear 6 month clothes for length because those start at 24", he just wouldn't fill them out all the way.

2 Month Check-up

11 lbs. 4 oz (50th)
23 and a 1/2 in. (75th)



Drew went to the doctor on Tuesday and is doing great! We did get a little scolding because we put Drew to sleep on his belly. I know the back is best, but 25 years ago doctors were telling patients that belly is best. Oh well.

He's doing a really good job eating. He eats about 4 oz. every 3-4 hours. I get told every day by the babysitter that he's doing a good job. All the other kids there love baby Drew. The one little girl Sarah is mesmerized by him. In fact today when her mom walked into the door and bent down so Sarah could give her a hug, Sarah ran to baby Drew instead.

Drew smiles a lot after eating and seems to enjoy bath time. He likes to stare at the giraffe on his swing, and play on the floor on his mat. We're still waiting for that magical night when he sleeps through the night. Well I take that back, we're still waiting for the magical time when he does this on a consistent basis. He's slept through the night a few times, but it only happens about once a week. And for some reason, the nights he chooses to sleep through the night always happen to be Mike's night. Little Booger.

Happy Halloween

Well little man had his first Halloween and if I do say so myself, he looked pretty darn cute!





We go to the doctor tomorrow for our 2 month check up so we'll see what the new stats are. He's smiling and "talking" a lot more. He's still not sleeping through the night yet, but has had a few 7 hour stretches. Mommy and Daddy are very ready for little Drew to sleep through the night. I feel like I'm creating a Groundhog Day effect with him because for the past week we've done the same thing every night. Bath, bottle, the same book, and then bed. Here's to hoping for restful nights soon enough.

Success

We have had success!! Little Drew slept through the night last night! And I also slept 7 straight hours. I honestly can't tell you the last time I slept that long. Maybe in college. I was simply exhausted yesterday from my 2nd day back at work and also working a 10 and a 1/2 hour day with parent/teacher conferences. I just thought that I was so exhausted that I didn't hear him wake up (it was Mike's night), but then Mike heard him crying at 6 this morning and got up and told me he slept through the night. Here's to hoping for more non-interrupted nights.

Daddy's Little Speedster

We set Andrew in Mike's car the other day and he looks like he's wondering why we haven't given him the keys yet.

The Big Boy Bed

Well we've transitioned into the big boy bed. Drew's room is not very far from ours. We started out doing a couple naps a day in the crib to get him used to the smell and his surroundings. He did great at the naps. So we put him in his room at night time and he seems to be doing well with that too. He gets up every 3-4 hours like he normally does to eat. And then I can lay him back down and he usually makes a small whimper but then falls right back asleep. And yes, I know what you're thinking..."a belly sleeper!" Andrew does great on his belly. He sleeps longer and just seems more peaceful.

We've had a couple of good nights in the last couple weeks. A few nights ago he slept from 9:30-3:45, then woke up again at 8. And last night he slept from 10:45-2:15, then 2:45-7. I feel like I say this all the time, but I think we're working our way to a full nights sleep. It would be nice to start getting the full nights sleep soon since I'll be heading back to work next week.

Speaking of work...I'm pretty excited to go back so I can have my adult interaction again. And I love my job and I'm excited to actually get to know the kids. I was only with them for two weeks at the beginning of the year. I know they're ready for me to come back too. Andrew has been to the babysitter's twice for transition days and has done great.