5 months

Well, my baby is 5 months old today. He celebrated by sleeping 11+hrs uninterrupted last night! His mommy still woke up at 4:45am for no good reason :/

He's been doing so well lately - taking great naps, sleeping through the night on a lot of nights, eating all of the foods I prepare for him, and just being a happy kid.

We took him to the playground yesterday for the first time and he absolutely loved the swings. He giggled and laughed and had an amazing time. He fell asleep in the jogging stroller on the way back and transferred with no problem to the crib. I'm trying to get him to take 2 out of 3 naps in his crib, rather than the swing. That's been going Ok so far.

I've been making all of his meals since last week and that has gone really well. So far, Liam has had: Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Pears, Mangoes, Avocados, Apples, Bananas, Prunes and next up is Squash. Can't wait!

Here's a pic of my cutie on the swing yesterday:




















Liam is 5 months old

Solid foods, sleeping through the night - all the fun stuff!

Well folks, I can hardly believe it, but my son has actually been sleeping through the night lately. Last night we put him down at 8:30 and he slept straight through until 6:30am. Pure bliss. For the past 2 weeks, he has been sleeping better than ever, with several 7, 8 and 9 hour nights. I am not sure if it has anything to do with the start of solid foods, but it certainly can't hurt. Plus, he had nothing last night and still slept well. Like his mother, he absolutely refused to eat sweet potatoes :) I was so proud! We've tried peas, carrots, prunes, and sweet potatoes. He's loved the carrots and prunes, but has hated the other two. We'll probably try bananas or pears next and see if he likes those. It's really fun seeing him try new things!

Liam is such a happy and fun baby, it's hard to believe that if we have more kids, we'd be blessed this way again. He will happily play with his toys for hours on end without a complaint, and he almost *never* cries. He will literally only cry if he really needs something (usually if he gets overstimulated, which doesn't happen too often). He can roll over both ways, he laughs and giggles endlessly, and he smiles almost the entire day. It's like he loves his life as much as his mommy and daddy do! He's GREAT in the car, whether he's sleeping or awake, and he goes to bed at night without a fuss. Even if he does wake up to eat in the middle of the night, he doesn't scream or cry - he simply starts talking, and does sort of a gentle whimpering to let us know that he'd like a bottle. He's also an incredible napper. I can always count on him for a long nap (typically 2-3 hours) and then 2 shorter naps, but he typically naps anywhere from 3-5 hours a day!

Yes, I'm bragging. I love my kid :) We also went through a lot together to get to this point. There was the fussiness/gassiness/colicky behavior around 2 months that I thought would never end (plus the waking twice a night to eat). I'd give just about anything to have been more present during the first 6 or 8 weeks of his life, rather than contained in that horrific post-partum bubble. Every now and then I get a little sad thinking that I don't have many great memories from that time. I know it doesn't help him, or me, to think along those lines so I try and stop myself. I'm doing the very best I can now, and I think I am doing a great job/being a great mom, and I can't wait to witness Liam's next milestones!

Liam is 4.5 months old

4 months old :)

My baby is 4 months old today. I'm both happy and sad about this. He's growing SO big (he's 16lb6oz and 25.5" - 80th percentile) but he's getting farther and farther away from being my little baby. He has such a personality now - he giggles and laughs when we do things he likes - particularly when we hold him upside down. He eats food now (well, cereal) and he slept 9 hours straight last night for the first time (9-6). It was AMAZING. It was weird not being woken up at 3am. I could get used to this...


Liam is 4 months old

What a difference a year makes...

February 4th, 2009:


February 4th, 2010:


Liam is 3 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days old

Trucking along...

The weeks fly by with an infant! Liam is rapidly approaching his 4th month and perhaps the start of solids. I feel like this kid is never full! He still wakes up during the night to eat, which is getting kind of old. Last night, we put him down at 8:30, and he didn't finish his bottle and woke up at 9:15 for the rest. Then he woke up around 1:30 and had 7.5oz and then again at 5am for another 4oz, and then finally at 7am for another 4. I am sure he's going throw a growth spurt (he has literally outgrown some pants he was wearing earlier in the week) and the stuff on top of his head that I hesitate to refer to as hair (fuzz?) seems to be growing longer by the day. He's very close to 16lbs (we bought an infant/toddler scale last night which is high on the list of unnecessary but fun purchases) and I'm sure he'll be well over 16 by his 4 month check up in a week and a half. I'm dreading his shots :( He did ok last time, but was super fussy the following 2 days. He didn't have a fever but I did end up giving him tylenol at one point as he seemed like he was in pain. Perhaps this time around I will give him a little tylenol right before the shots so the pain doesn't get too bad.

Other than that, being a Mommy is still pretty darn amazing :) In spite of his several recent night wakings, Liam's a really great kid with a happy/easy disposition! I am pretty lucky.

Liam is 3.5 months old

3 months already

After the initial 6-8 weeks, where all you're really doing is changing diapers, feeding, and putting the baby to sleep (oh, and surviving!) things start to really look up. Your baby becomes less of a blob and more of a person with a real personality. He smiles and coos at you, and gets excited when you pick him up. He can hold his own head up, and play with his toys unassisted. He can also put himself back to sleep when need be, if he's properly taught to. NOT that I am ready to be pregnant again any time soon, but I'm really enjoying all the little nuances of a baby, and I'm realizing that they change every day, and get farther and farther away from wearing newborn clothes and diapers (ok, so Liam wore his for like 2 days, but still!)

I had to take Liam to the doctor for his first appointment outside of a well visit. His tear duct in his left eye has been persistently clogged/infected since he was born. His right eye cleared up within the first month, but this eye had to be wiped down about 8-10 times a day, and no one enjoyed the process. So, I took him in and we received a prescription for antibiotic ointment to be put in his eye 3x/day for 5 days. I think his eye is looking a little better but still far from where it needs to be.

Otherwise, Liam remains a happy and healthy little (BIG) boy who just passed his 3 month birthday!

Liam is 3 months and 4 days old

My little man is not so little anymore :(

Ok, so he was never really that little to begin with, but he now weighs over 14lbs and has outgrown all of his 0-3 month clothes and is mainly wearing 3-6 or just 6 month clothes. I sincerely have no idea where he gets his size from (I've been a size 0 or 2 my entire life and my husband is not a big guy either). Either way, his chub is super cute!

As I get farther and farther away from the PPD, I can appreciate Liam so much more. I was staring at him yesterday while he was smiling and gurgling, and tears started streaming down my face. He is so precious and innocent. I can't get enough! Every day he grows stronger and wiser and I'm so lucky I get to witness this.

He is great at holding up his own head, sitting in his bumbo seat, grabbing things with his hands and kicking his legs while he laughs his head off. Soooo cute. I can't wait to get him eating real food to see what he enjoys. I've already ordered him Organic Oatmeal cereal and Organic Brown Rice cereal and will start him on them next month.

Liam is also doing super well with sleeping lately. We've been putting him down between 8:30-9:15pm and he sleeps until 7-8am with one wakeup for food around 3/4am. It's not bad at all. We're all getting much more sleep. I can't forsee him dropping the middle of the night feeding any time soon because he eats a ton then!

Well, that's all for now. Liam is nearing the end of his afternoon nap :)




Liam is 12 weeks old

Long time no see!

Ok, so I haven't updated in over a month. Oops :/

I've had some very serious struggles with Post Partum Depression & Anxiety which had me in a black hole for several long weeks. I've started to come out of the depression and am hopeful that things will keep getting brighter.

On a positive note, Liam is doing very well. I've recently had to switch him from breast milk to formula which I was very unhappy with originally (I'm on medication which would pass through to the milk) but he's doing so well, gaining a ton of weight, hitting all of the developmental milestones so far, that I really cannot complain.

Liam has been sleeping so much better over the past few days than ever before. He has been doing 5-6 hour stretches and then another 4-5 hour stretch after that. He's also "gooing" a ton which is really fun. He was in the 85th percentile for weight at his 2 month check-up (13.1 lbs) and we think he's probably close to 14lbs at this point - he's wearing all 3-6 month clothes at this point!

Motherhood has been harder than I ever could have imagined, and while I had an inkling that I could have PPD, I never realized how bad it could be. It makes me fearful to have another child, even though I loved being pregnant so very much. B is ready to have another one immediately and keeps joking about Irish twins. Fortunately, I don't plan to get pregnant in the next month, so that is not going to be a reality! I'm starting to experience more of the rewarding elements of being a mom. It's very fun to interact with Liam, and I can't wait until he talks more and enjoys playing a bit more.

I'll do my best at trying to update a little more often!



Liam will be 11 weeks old on Monday

5 weeks (almost)

I'm typing this with a massively sized baby sprawled out on my lap, while he enjoys his pacifier. It truly seems like a rare feat to have him content and quiet and just enjoying the world around him. It always seems like he needs something, from food, to a diaper, to a tummy massage to work out the gas, or a burp mid-way through a nap. Sometimes I forget to enjoy my little guy as I'm too busy trying to figure out what he needs!

I'm still beyond sleep deprived. Having a baby brings sleep deprivation to a level I could have never imagined. Yes it's well worth it, but I truly had no clue what I was in for. I was always the type of person to lay down, sleep, and wake up 8 hours later well rested. Some days I have no idea if I've even slept for 3 hours. The last couple of days, I've not been fall down tired so hopefully I'm adjusting. My mother-in-law has been here for the last 2 weeks and I have absolutely no clue what I'd do without her. Not having my own mom around (she passed away when I was 14) has left me grief-stricken, but my mother-in-law literally came in and saved the day. I have no idea how to cope when she leaves after Thanksgiving, but fortunately for me, she is returning before Christmas hopefully for an extended stay once again. My plan is to go back to work part time in January and I feel so much better knowing that Liam would be taken care of by her rather than someone I don't know.

Right now, I'm reading the Sleep Lady book to try and learn how to sleep train an infant. During weeks 4-8, I've learned it's important to make sure that babies only nap for a maximum of 3 hours during the day, in a well lit environment (to distinguish night from day) and then have a night time ritual. Babies should remain awake from 8-10pm, have a bath in there, and then a final meal around 10, and then be put down to sleep. Tonight is night 1 of this approach. He's still awake at 9:30 - so far so good. He has some good 3 hour stretches but last night was rough. He went down around 10:30, then was awake at 12:15, 2:45 and 5:30. I know it could be worse, but this felt really impossible!

Ok, now he's starting to get fussy again! At least I found some time to update....

Liam is 5 weeks (minus a day)

Starting to get the hang of things... sort of.

Well, we survived the first 3 weeks. Barely, I think. Well, at least it seemed impossible for me. Some days I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I'll admit that I've had some exceptionally difficult days throughout Liam's first 3 weeks of life.

Breastfeeding has never been easy. He's a very lazy nurser and I have had an oversupply of milk, so I've been weaning down with the pumping. My doctor would like me to wean off completely, due to persistent mastitis which I've had for a week now. I even had to get an ultrasound yesterday to make sure that I didn't have an abscess (fortunately, I don't). I've seen a lactation consultant, and I've been to my doctor's office twice in the past week, and I'm on 2 different antibiotics. I guess this makes up for my problem-free pregnancy! So, I'm taking the breastfeeding/pumping one day at a time. I have to get the mastitis under control or nothing is going to work. I've been giving him exclusively breast milk for 3 weeks now, and have never supplemented with formula. We may introduce formula this week and see how that goes. I am hopeful that it may allow Liam to sleep longer at night, provided that it doesn't upset his tummy. He wakes about every 3 hours at night for food. He has had a 4 or 5 hour stretch here and there but I think that was last week.

My mother-in-law is here, which is mostly due to my lack of confidence in being on my own with the baby. I often feel like I just don't know how to soothe him or what he wants. Fortunately, she'll be here for another few weeks, which might make this process a little bit easier on me. I just keep taking things one day at a time, and often one hour at a time.

On the positive side, I've lost all of my pregnancy weight (as of a few days ago!)



Liam is 3 weeks, and 1 day old