On the way to Cape May....

Noah went on his first trip to Ocean City this past weekend! We're so excited to be starting these traditions with him- we hope it's a place he grows to love. Saturday we went to dinner with a friend for his birthday, and my parents babysat Noah. My dad put him to sleep for the night-- a first! He is getting used to handling Noah. At first he was freaked out by Noah's crying or fussiness, but he seems to be getting past it, and tries to meet the need so he will stop, instead of passing him back. :) Noah's getting tons of nicknames from Grand-maman and Pop Pop: No-Jo, little Joe, medicine, dessert, treasure, and Ishcabibbles. Anyway, back to the shore story...It's not beach weather yet, but on Sunday we took a nice long walk in the pleasant 70 degree weather, to the marina where Pop Pop docks his boat (Noah wore his fisherman's hat for the occasion). Later that day we went to the boardwalk to have Mac n' Manco's, and just like that the weekend was over. They fly by anymore.

Noah is 4 months and two weeks old now. Unbelievable! He weighs in at 17.5 lbs, and 27 inches long! I asked the doctor if it's ok that he's so big. His response: "it's not only ok, it's great! I'll bet you never said you wanted to marry someone who is short, dark, and handsome!". We must be doing something right! He's in the 75th percentile for weight and height.

While his daddy has hopes of him being a linebacker, he's showing signs of being musically inclined. Whenever music plays, or someone sings or whistles to him, he is instantly soothed, and becomes very attentive! We're trying to feed him music as much as possible. He thinks it's hilarious when I attempt to beat box for him and make him dance.

Speaking of hilarious, HE GIGGLED the other day! Oh my goodness...it was the most precious sound I've ever heard! It was so much fun hearing him express his joy! I was singing "the wheels on the bus" and bouncing him around, and his squeals turned into giggles. He hasn't done it since, but I'm so looking forward to when it becomes regular. His laughter shoots straight to my heart!

Sitting up has been the goal of late. He makes quite the effort to raise himself into a seated position (but can't do it unassisted yet). He sits up when I prop him against pillows just fine, and I'm trying to teach him to balance himself by holding him loosely while he sits. He's also taken to 'standing' (while I hold him, of course). Loves it! He smiles so proudly when he stands.

We have CONQUERED bath time!!!! We no longer have to bathe with him. We have a new bathtub that he sits in by himself. It seems like he's enjoying his baths now! Instead of sitting, frozen, he will kick his feet and splash around a bit. It's definitely easier for us this way. Keith has also brings Noah in the shower with him when we're short on time. At first, the water in his face startled him, but he's warming up to the idea.

Noah loves playing with toys now. Everything goes straight to the mouth! I was able to shower the other day without Keith being home-- I put him in the door jumper and he entertained himself for a while. Towards the end he was fussy but he gave me just enough time to get ready. We're making progress!

He also had baby cereal for the first time last month (pictures to come). He spits out more than he swallows, though, so I decided to put it off for a bit. I'm going to try it again tomorrow, and if it goes well, make it a part of the routine. I have pictures of his first solid meal, but will have to post them later.

That's about all the updates I can think of for now. Time is flying by and Noah is getting big so quickly! Life is rich. I can't express how fulfilled I am when I wake up to that little boy's smile. I'm so blessed.

Oh PS, only 2 more lbs to go to hit pre-pregnancy weight!!!! YAY!

Three months and three weeks

My my my how the time is passing! Noah is now three months and three weeks old, weighing in at a whopping 15 lbs 13 oz, and 24.5 inches long! He's a solid little boy! Some chub, but not as much as he could have for how big he is. This is the first month we have gone to the doctor's without him putting on 3 pounds. It was only 1.5 pound this month, so I guess he's slowing down. The doctor said he eventually would. He's as cute as ever, as you can see. So let's recap all the new things he's been doing:

Smiling. I noted that on an earlier post, but he can't get enough of the smiles now!

Talking. Last weekend (Easter- his first), Noah found his voice. He started cooing and squealing, and has been doing it more and more ever since. He makes quite the effort to express himself, lifting his legs into the air and straining with each sound he makes. Quite often he surprises himself with the noises he makes! It's been so much fun to hear his little voice! Along with his voice developing, his once little cry is now powerful!

Reaching for toys. The other day I was out to lunch with Rachel and her son Elijah, when I heard a rattle sound. I looked over to find Noah both holding and chewing on Stanley's (beloved stuffed giraffe/rattle) head.

Ever since the three month mark, Noah has been sleeping in his crib. He's doing really well with it! He gets up once or twice at night, which has been pretty good! It's far more bearable than before. No more bassinett for us!

He also rolled over! Last weekend (again, Easter weekend), he rolled over like 6/7 times in a row, from his tummy to his back. I've tried to get him to do it again but he doesn't have much interest. He's also more fond of tummy time, now that he can control his head well. He used to cry immediately. Now I can get 10/15 minutes out of him before he makes a peep. He's already starting to bring up his knees. All we need now is arm strength and he'll be crawling in no time!

Another thing he's been doing a lot of is trying to sit up! I'll have him in a reclined or semi reclined position, and he will strain to lift his head/torso into a more upright position. He's become very attentive too. He listens to my voice and watches me when I talk. His gaze follows me if I'm moving around the room. I think he's starting to recognize people, too. He's very comfortable with Grandmaman and Pop pop, and is melting down less and less when we are in big crowds. We went to Harrisburg last weekend for Ethan and Aaron's 5th birthday party, and he had shots the day before, so he was in a horrible mood Friday, poor kid. But Saturday we kept the people-passing to a minimum and he did far better than he has any other time he's been around a lot of people. We stayed at Aunt Glenda and Uncle Barry's while we were there, and he did fine with the new surroundings. He also took a bath in a baby tub without screaming, for the first time!! We're getting there!

So many things are changing with him...I have to start keeping a list, as I haven't been able to get to the computer to post as often as I'd like. I hate to see the infant go, but watching him change and learn is so cool! Keith and I are absolutely loving being parents.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy-- he's a beautiful boy! I'm so proud he's mine!

Growing UP!

I just got my cell phone out to count how many weeks old Noah is now- 10! 2.5 months old already! He's smiling on a regular basis now. He loves playing on his changing table in the morning when we are getting him ready for the day. He just kicks and coos and smiles away. It's so fun! I'm trying to teach him what a conversation is. If he makes a noise, I'll say something, and then wait for him to make another noise and say something again. I think he's getting the hang of it. He's getting bigger by the day! He looks so long to me now! Keith had to adjust the straps on his car seat and put them one rung higher to adjust to his height. I don't know how much he weighs for sure, but I'd guess at 12 or 13 pounds! I'm hoping it's not more than that because if it's 14, I only have a few weeks before his 86 or so diapers in size 1 don't fit! He's still nursing...and still has an allergy to dairy or something therein. I read that if babies show sensitivity to cow's milk it's because of the protien in it. If this is the case, they're prob. also sensitive to the protein in soy products. Which has also proven true. Even if I eat a bit of something, he throws up all of the next 2 feedings. Which stinks for him...he gets so uncomfortable. So I'm quitting all dairy and chocolate and spices, etc, cold turkey.

He's getting closer to sleeping through the night now! He only woke up twice the past two nights: 1:00 AM and 5:30 AM. Soon I'm confident he'll sleep right through! Yet another discovery we made in the past couple of weeks is that Noah LOVES to be in the water if we are in there with him. I took a bath with him and he was as calm and content as can be! I hope a few more times of doing this will help him to adjust to water altogether and like taking baths on his own. For right now, though, it's fun to play with him in the tub.

Also a new discovery: breaking from routine is not a good thing. Twice this month I've taken Keith to work and gone to friends' houses to visit, and both times it was a huge no-no. I think waking him up in the morning was my first mistake (taking him w/ me to drop Keith off) because he would normally sleep longer. My second mistake is taking him places...if he's in the car he's fine-- he sleeps. But if he's in new surroundings, he doesn't take his normal naps, and instead gets cranky and stays that way for the rest of the day. I feel so bad-- my usually content, happy baby is only fussy when we go somewhere. :( I guess it's a good thing I won't have the option to take him out next month-- Keith will have to drive to work when Lincon Financial relocates.

Motherhood is still wonderful. I've graduated from college, and am not trying to balance class work any longer. Working out has taken the place of school work though-- trying to shed a few before summertime comes! Above are some pictures my dad took this weekend with his fabulous new camera! One of him crying...which breaks my heart every time- that face! There's also one with his Grandmom/Mom-mom. Too cute!

6 Weeks and 6 Days old...but who's counting?

It's nearly 1 AM and I promised myself I'd be in bed early tonight b/c I have to take Keith to the train tomorrow...but I HAD to post tonight because Noah LAUGHED AND SMILED today!!! He laughed twice, and now smiles whenever we coo and smile at him. It was the most beautiful sight in the whole world! It's so cool to know that he's choosing to react to us. Who ever said being a parent isn't rewarding!? It's such a high honor...I can't wait for the rest of his firsts!! Here are some pictures of Noah at one month old. He's getting so big so quickly! At the last doctor's appointment he was 21 inches long-- he's already grown 2 inches! It's so sad to see that he's not teeny tiny anymore, but seeing these neat little changes takes the sadness away. We are just loving him to pieces!

One Month Old Already!

Here I am- I got a chance to pull away from the new mommy routine and make note of my amazement at how Noah is already 5.5 weeks old- over a month!!! How on earth did that happen so quickly?? I suppose all the days are blending together. Our nighttime routines have gotten smoother- Noah gets up every three to four hours for night feedings, and sleeps in between each feeding. He's been doing that since he was two weeks old. I'm so blessed! I'm told that soon he will forgo one or two night feedings and sleep longer. I love waking up to that precious face-- it makes all the fatigue worthwhile. Fortunately, I nap when he does, during the day. He really is a good baby. He only cries for a reason, which isn't very often. I'm a lucky mom!

The picture collage is from the day Noah came home from the hospital. The picture above it was from this past weekend (5 weeks old).

I want to make sure I make note of milestones Noah reaches. He's beginning to become aware that his hands are, in fact, his. If he is fussy, I can calm him by holding his hand. He's still very expressive with his hands...whenever he begins a feeding he clenches them into fists right beside his cheeks. As he begins to relax, the fists loosen and his arms go limp. It's cute how relaxing nursing is to him! Oh, and speaking of milestones...we took him to the doctor last week, and he weighed in at 11lbs, 4 oz!! He gained 4 pounds in one month! At least I know he's getting enough to eat. A common fear of nursing mothers is that they might not be...since you can't exactly measure what the baby consumes. Anyway, he no longer fits into his newborn outfits. He can only wear 0-3 month clothing now!

At the same doctor's appointment, they tried to take a rectal temp...which ended in him pooping once on the nurse, once on the floor, and three times in my hand haha! Poor kid...he was obviously traumatized. The nurse insisted on changing the table paper before I put his diaper back on, which is why it happened so many times. It was quite the adventure. I think it's in his chart now: no more rectal temps!

Another milestone is that he had his first vacation last Friday! We went to Grandmom and Pop-pop's on Friday, and were only supposed to stay until Sunday, but one thing led to another, and we ended up staying until Thursday!! It was fun...mom took him in the morning after his 5 AM feedings, so I could sleep a little bit. And we made occasional visits, through the day, to Pop pop's office (on the first floor) to give him a dose of "his medicine" as he calls him. They both love being around Noah- it's so satisfying to me to see that he's so loved by them! I'm glad he gets to grow up around a loving family.

Noah is also becoming more 'vocal'. He used to make no noise outside of crying when he needed to be changed, or when he was hungry. Now he's making grunts and all kids of noises- one of which we've coined his 'alien talk'. It's hard to describe, but he does it when he's stretching or waking up. It's too cute!

All in all, we're starting to establish a routine. Between housework, cooking, my homework, and Keith getting his licenses for work, we're busy. I wish I could get more done in a day, but want to wait until my 6 week checkup (monday) to make sure everything is healing alright. After a day where I try to do things, I notice that I'm still sore. I hope this passes soon! I'm anxious to start exercising, vacumming, and taking the stairs whenever I need to.

Hahahaha! I'm reading back over this post and starting to see that it's just as scattered as I feel right now. I'm sorry-- it's nearly midnight, and I'm tired from the day, but figured I may as well stay up until the midnight feeding, then go to bed. Hopefully my next post will be a bit more organized. :) I just wanted to make sure I got a post in before his second month arrived! My sweet little baby...growing so quickly!

Christmas Pictures

More Pictures of Noah