Flying Baby!

Joshua's new car seat!

It arrived yesterday. It's the Britax Marathon and will last him until he's 65 pounds or 49 inches, which ever comes first. It actually makes him look little. Lately everything makes him look big, like his swing, chair & newborn car seat all make him look big. It was on sale which is why we bought it now, he can still comfortably sit in his original car seat but I couldn't pass up the great deal I got. It's MSRP is about $100 more than what I paid. They were running a sale and most seats were at least $40 off. I ordered it from http://www.travelingtikes.com/ and got free shipping! It's a bit big but it does fit in our small car which I was very relieved about. We did measure but I wanted to make sure it would fit.

These next few weeks are going to be very busy for us. Next Friday we are taking him to get his 6 month portraits taken. The following week I have my gyn annual appt and he has his 6 month appt. The following Sunday we are going on vacation for 6 days!! Joshua will see the beach and get in the pool for the first time. Oh and in July he will be taking swim lessons at the YMCA!

Joshua Laughing!

We've got laughter!

My First Mother's Day!

Saturday we spent with my mom and Sunday we spent with Jamie's family. It was an enjoyable first Mother's Day that I'll always remember.

Update

Last week Joshua was really fussy and Thursday was awful. He was screaming and crying for most of the day and it was very hard to calm him down. So we called our pediatrician's office. They wanted to rule out an ear infection but thought his symptoms very well could be teething. We brought him in and saw a resident from the hospital where Joshua was born who only comes into the office on Thursdays (our doctor wasn't in). He actually saw Joshua when he was in the NICU. Anyway, he asked us a bunch of questions and thought we should change his reflux medicine because it might not be working as effectively as before. He also wanted to check for a milk allergy (cow's milk, not momma's milk). We're pretty sure he was grasping for straws here as he doesn't know Joshua and didn't really know what to think.


Unfortunately the new reflux medicine (Prevacid) doesn't come in liquid (or so we're told). So we got dissoluble tablets. Ever tried giving one to a baby? Not easy. Even though they are strawberry flavored, Joshua wanted nothing to do with them. We tried letting them dissolve in his mouth and most of it came out. We tried a medicine syringe but most of it got stuck in the syringe. This is why we decided to give him rice cereal so we could mix the medicine in with it. He still didn't get very much. So he's either going back on the old medicine or he's not getting any until his 6 month appointment in 3 weeks.



Jamie brought in a diaper on Monday for them to test. There was a microscopic amount of blood in it. They said I should eliminate all dairy to see if that fixes the problem. Well, he hasn't been that fussy since Thursday. In fact, Monday he was a perfect angel and he's been pretty good yesterday & today too. Besides that we are pretty sure he's teething. He has all the classic signs: chewing & biting on his fingers, drooling like crazy and one spot on his gum is red. Also teething can make babies very fussy. So the only way we would know if the diary elimination had worked would be to have them test another diaper.



Jamie finally spoke to them today after playing phone tag Monday & Tuesday. I think he spoke with a nurse who said she didn't think the doctor knew we had just started him on rice cereal. I read that can cause trace amounts of blood as any new food can plus it is known to cause constipation which can definitely cause the blood. She agreed. She said to stop the rice cereal and also not give him any new foods until after his 6 month appointment in 3 weeks. We are to bring in another dirty diaper then for them to test. The best part of all is that she said I would not have to eliminate all dairy even if he has an allergy! So I don't have to totally give up chocolate! YAY!

Joshua eats rice cereal for the first time!!

Joshua eats rice cereal for the VERY FIRST TIME!!

He was switched from liquid Zantac to disolvable Prevacid tablets. We tried to put them in his mouth and use a medicine spoon to give them to him but it didn't work very well. So we figured we might as well start him on rice cereal so we can mix his medicine in with it. He sure had fun!

Help!!

I've been told that you can't post comments on my blog. I tried and when I clicked on the link nothing happened. Help!! Please send me an e-mail at Betsy0040@aol.com if you can help.


Oh and so far we have:


Noah's Ark - 2 votes

Sesame Babies - 2 vote

Boy's Lil' Cupcake - 1 vote

I really like the Noah's Ark but it doesn't say Happy 1st Birthday. So I could potentially use that for his 2nd birthday. I think that since he only has 1 first birthday all the stuff should at least have a 1 on it, ya know? So maybe I should elimate Noah's Ark & Jungle Babies. That would put Sesame Babies in the lead.

Planning A Party + A Poll!

A friend of ours baby is having his 1st birthday party next week which got me to thinking about Joshua's party. I know I have over 6 months to plan it but I'm a planner so I'm gonna have it done way in advance. Here are the themes I am trying to choose from. Please leave me a comment and tell me your favorite! Right now my favorite is Noah's Ark but that can change at the drop of a hat.

Baby Einstein

Pooh's First Birthday

1st Cupcake

Jungle Buddies

Noah's Ark

Sesame Babies

Lil' Prince

Boy's Lil' Cupcake

Just Ducky

Trying to Sit-Up

He's still learning.

Update

Joshua hasn't had a very good week. He has been extra fussy. Today was so far the worst of all. Thankfully Jamie was home most of the day so he could help. We decided to call our pediatrician's office and they told us to come in just to make sure it wasn't an ear infection or something else we should be worried about, it's not. Our pediatrician wasn't in so we saw someone else. We actually saw a resident from the hospital where Joshua was born who saw him while he was in the NICU. Jamie thought Joshua had a sore throat and the dr did too. He changed his medication from Zantac to Prevacid. He wants to check a dirty diaper in case it's something I'm eating but I haven't changed my diet so that doesn't make much sense to me. He thought maybe it's a cow's milk allergy. Oh and we found out he weighs 15lbs 12oz so he has officially doubled his birth weight! I'm hoping the Prevacid does the trick and he gets back to himself.

Making Baby Food

Frozen Carrots

Frozen Plums & Sweet Potatoes

Carrots

Sweet Potatoes

So I have been inspired by the gals from my bulletin board to try my hand at making baby food. So far I have made plums, sweet potatoes & carrots. I have 8 servings each of plums & sweet potatoes and 16 of carrots. I made the carrots this past weekend and just for fun gave Joshua a taste. He wasn't interested. What little managed to get in his mouth he spit out or I should say it came out because he didn't really spit it out. He still has the tongue thrust reflex which keeps newborns from choking. His tongue pushes out anything that isn't liquid. He also wouldn't open his mouth for more even when I made the spoon an airplane. Oh well, I guess he's not ready yet.

Joshua's 1st trip to the zoo

These guys really are small in person, probably the size of a kitten.

Holding his own bottle! He can hold a bottle as long as there's not more than 3 or 4 oz in it but he can't tilt it up so when it gets really low we have to tilt it for him so he can get the last little bit.


Aren't they adorable? It's like they were posing!

So sweet!

It really was a zoo there! We got there around 9:15 just after they opened and it was already crowded. By the time we left, 2 1/2 hours later, there were no open parking spaces! It wasn't too hot when we got there but by 10 it was hot. Supposedly it was only 82 but it felt like 95! There wasn't much shade nor many clouds so it felt like the sun was beating down on you. Joshua was pretty good but after 2 hours he'd had enough as had I because it was so hot. We purchased a membership package so we will be going back but probably not until the fall unless we get a cool day or at least a day without much sun so it won't feel so hot. Still, I can't imagine going there in the heat of the summer.

5 Months!!

One year ago today we got the first view of our little peanut. It was so amazing to see that there was actually a tiny human growing in my belly. I had gotten the BFP (big fat postive) preggo test but to actually see what would grow to be Joshua was incredible. Hard to believe what a difference a year makes.

Here he is today! Tomorrow he will be 5 months old. This past Saturday we had him named at the synagogue. It was wonderful! We had 10 people there including us. Joshua's cousin Nicole and friends of the family Robin & Steve finally got to meet him. It was a beautiful service. Baby namings are normally done on Friday nights but since everyone would be traveling 2-4 hours to be there it seemed that Saturday would be better. I'm so glad we did it on Saturday because the Rabbi plays the guitar and it is also a smaller crowd so it made it feel more personal. Everyone said they enjoyed the service and that the Rabbi was very warm and welcoming. I take this as high praise as for most of them it was their first time at a synagogue. My mom was here last week and it was nice to spend time with her and for her to spend time with Joshua. It's the first time she's gotten to do that for more than a day since he was born.

I'm guessing my big boy weighs about 15lbs and is 26 inches long. He is still wearing 3-6 month clothes but I can tell he won't be for much longer as his sleepers are getting tight length wise anyway. He is definately not a chunky monkey. Most of his clothes still have plenty of room in them width wise. I'm sad to say he'll be moving out of the swaddlers soon. He wore newborn diapers for 2 months and then size 1 for about a month and now he's going to be moving into size 3. Swaddlers only go up to size 2-3 so we're going to have to move up to baby dry or cruisers. I bought a small pack of cruisers to see if we like them. They have the same mesh as the swaddlers so I figured they would be similar. Plus it says on the box of swaddlers that cruisers are the next stage.

For the past 2 weeks he has been sleeping 10-12 hours at night in his crib!! He is also now sleeping on his belly. One night after I put him to bed on his back I went back in and he had rolled onto his tummy and was still asleep. Now that's what he does most nights. He is able to roll from his belly to his back now so I'm trying not to worry. His new bedtime (which he set himself, by the way) is between 7 & 8pm. He will sleep until at least 4 am but most mornings it's 6am before he wakes up again. Whenever he wakes up Jamie brings him into our bed until he has to get up for work and we all go back to sleep for a while. He usually wakes up to eat around 7 so I feed & change him and then we go back to sleep until about 9.

While my mom was here she helped me make babyfood for Joshua. We made plums & sweet potatoes. It wasn't easy but I'm glad that I did it. I'm not sure how much I'll do in the future as it's pretty time consuming and Joshua has been pretty fussy lately but I'm glad I got to do some. Like how I feel a sense of accomplishment for breastfeeding, I feel the same way about making babyfood for him. Yes, we've made it 5 months exclusively breastfeeding! I'm so proud that I have been able to do this for him! I think I may be feeding him rice cereal before he's 6 months but not for another 2-3 weeks. His pediatrician wants us to start before his 6 month appointment so I think I'll try in 2-3 weeks.

Joshua's Baby Naming

Joshua is named at the Tree of Life congregation in Columbia, SC.

Intro to Joshua's Baby Naming

The Rabbi inviting us to come up to the Bimah for Joshua's naming.

Easter

Joshua was very good this past weekend. We got to Jamie's mom's Friday afternoon and we stayed until Sunday afternoon. My mom was there Saturday & Sunday as well. On Sunday Joshua was just amazing! He wasn't fussy or cranky and he just let everyone pass him around. If he had fussed I would have taken him away but he was too good. He's currently making up for it, ha ha. We had lunch at Aunt Anita's and the whole family was there. He had time with all his Aunts: Anita, Nancy & Amy plus his Grandmas.

Way Back Whensday

Our wedding day. July 17th, 2004. 3 more months and we will have been married for 5 years, wow! It was such a wonderful day and everyone that attended said it was the best wedding they had ever been to! I love that we created such a wonderful event. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. I felt like a princess. It was the most special day in my life, until Joshua was born.

Makes My Monday

So I'm reading a lot of other blogs and came across the themes for the day of the week and I'm going to try to do them. Monday is Makes My Monday. Wednesday is Way Back Whensday. Thursday is Thanksgiving Thursday. Friday is Finished for Friday. Sunday is Super Sunday. If anyone knows of a Tuesday or Saturday theme let me know.

I guess that makes today Makes My Monday. This one just makes my week. This weekend is Easter and next week my mom will be here with us for the whole week! I am really looking forward to her spending some time with Joshua. She hasn't really gotten to do that much since we live so far away. The best part of all is Joshua's naming next Saturday and Nicole is going to be there! She may even be spending the night Friday night. I am so excited about next weekend but I'm not ready for it to be here yet because then it will be over. Some more Makes My Monday is all the packages that will be coming in this week! Joshua's high chair is the most exciting! I love getting packages!! For more Makes My Monday check out twinfatuation.blogspot.com.

Refund!

Do you like his new shades? They are just his size, shatterproof lenses, block UVA & UVB, have an adjustable neoprene band and came with a plastic case. They should last at least a year.

We found out we're getting a tax refund, yay! Here's what we've bought so far: Joshua's outfit for his naming, A Hatful of Seuss (book), high chair, additional pacifiers (same as the one he got from the hospital), plastic bibs & spoons for when he starts eating baby food, crest spinbrush (for me), new razor (for Jamie) & a high chair toy. I think Joshua is getting more out of our refund than we are. Here's the link to the outfit I bought, it is much cuter in person than in the picture http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/baby/gifts/giftsets/PRD~441671/Winnie+the+Pooh+5pc+Coveralls+Set.jsp. Here's the link to the high chair we bought http://www.amazon.com/Graco-1751640-Blossom-Highchair-Townsend/dp/B001QFJ10I/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1238894410&sr=8-1.