Happy Happy Birthday

Today is Chris' Birthday... and we celebrated just the three of us.  

Chris asked for just two things... to watch the movie "Ted" and to have his favorite dinner.  We watched Ted, but unfortunately Kings didn't have the crusted Tilapia that he requested.  Instead, we had Aikou takeout, I made him some cupcakes, and Noah and I (really just I) sang him Happy Birthday!

Happy 35th Birthday Chris!

Baby Noah - Week 8

Weight:  We went to the doctor yesterday and our little Noah isn't so little anymore... he weighs 12 lbs 12 oz!  He also grew another inch... he's 23 inches long now!    

Health:   Noah is a healthy boy.  He's been a little congested, but the doctor said to just use a humidifier.  The doctor also said he looked a little pigeon-toed, but to just rotate his feet when we change his diaper and it should correct itself.  He also got his 2 month vaccinations yesterday.  It started with a drink and then there were the two shots, one in each thigh.  The first shot wasn't horrible, but the second one made him scream (the nurse said that one had a burning sensation)!  We had a bottle ready and I made sure to hold him tight and feed him right after the shots and that seemed to help.  Thursday evening was rough!  That evening he was just fussier than normal but when nighttime came he was up EVERY HOUR!  I, of course, got a sore throat yesterday, so waking up that often was even harder!

  

Sleep:   This is referring to his week of sleep pre-shot, since I don't think it's fair to include last night's "up every hour" when describing how Noah has been doing.  

Since Chris was off this past week for Christmas and we have the new couch, we've gone back to sleeping with Noah out in the living room.  Probably not the best idea to go backwards, but thankfully we've gotten into a pretty solid routine of him sleeping for 3 hour stretches.  He wakes up to eat around midnight, 3 am, and 6 am.  Christmas Eve we had a little Christmas miracle and he slept for 4 1/2 hours straight!  Now that we have him consistently sleeping 3 hour stretches we are going to try to transition him back into sleeping with us in our room and hope that he continues to sleep as long.     

Clothes: This week we noticed that his 0-3 clothes are really starting to get too small.  They still technically fit him, but I think this next week will involve getting rid of outfits after we wear them and realize they are just too tight.  I will gradually be including more of his 3-6 size clothes.  I can't believe how fast he is growing.  This next week I think we will also need to move him up to size 2 diapers!

Social: Since it was Christmas this past week, you can imagine that Noah had a much more eventful week with having visitors come over and going to visit with relatives.  

Christmas Eve we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for an early dinner and then opened gifts.  Grandma and Grandpa spoiled him as usual and Santa even knew to find him there and came early :)  Grandma has even stocked up on supplies at her house in the hopes that we will be coming to her house more often now that he has his shots.  Since they have more room and a nice neighborhood to take walks in, I definitely think we will be doing that.  

  

We stayed for a little over 3 hours, and Noah did great as usual!  Though he is a typical Freel and as soon as he knows adults want to eat, he decides that he no longer likes his bouncy chair and needs to be held.  Thankfully my mom offered to hold him so I could eat and then I took him when I finished.

Christmas Day we went over to Grammy and Grandpa's house and Uncle Justin was there too.  It almost didn't happen since Grammy was feeling pretty sick Christmas Eve, but we just went over a little later in the day than originally planned when she was feeling better.  We exchanged gifts with the Flinns and then had a nice lunch before heading home.  Noah was again a perfect little angel and let everyone hold him.

Thursday morning, Uncle Luke and his fiance Tyler came over to visit Noah and we exchanged Christmas gifts with them as well.  This was the first time Tyler got to meet Noah :)

  

Diet: Still pumping and supplementing with formula.  Though this week I've noticed that I was having some lower producing days instead of consistently increasing my supply like I had been in the past.  I'm not sure if my body will let me continue to pump as long as I had hoped to.

Baby Gear Love:  Chris installed the mirror in the car so that I can see Noah in his car seat while driving.  Chris was worried that it wasn't put in right since he did it without Noah in the car, but he did a great job!  I still haven't used it with him alone, but so far I love just being able to see him while I drive and know that he's okay.  It's making me more confident that one day soon I'll be able to drive with him all on my own.

We haven't used it much yet, but this past week Chris took out our Britax Carrier and tried putting Noah in it.  He liked (which just means he didn't cry) being in it when facing outwards, but really didn't like it when we turned him in to face Chris' chest.  Chris often walks to the bank and to pick up random things at the grocery store, so now that he has his shots he might take him with him in the carrier :)

Crying:   When Noah is hungry he can let out a mean and loud cry.  It really breaks our hearts and we just can't make a bottle fast enough!  

After his shots he cried and was fussy that night.  So we just made sure to cuddle a lot and give him lots of loving.   

Likes:  Noah likes his stroller and car rides.  He can be fussy one minute and then as soon as we start driving he will calm right down and fall asleep.  I think I know what we will be doing if he ever won't fall asleep one night!

Noah also likes people!  This week he was happy to let everyone take turns holding him.  While he loves all his family members it was so cute to see how he was looking up at his Uncle Justin on Christmas Day... I really think they will have a fun relationship as he gets older :)

Noah is liking his bath more and more.  

Grandma got him some bath toys for Christmas and I'm not sure who liked them more... Chris or Noah!

Milestones: Noah celebrated his first Christmas!  Even though we will have to wait a few years before he's excited for Santa and tearing open his gifts, Christmas is always more fun when there's a child involved.

  

As stated above, Noah got his 2 month shots yesterday.  I felt so bad for him while he was getting the shots and I feel really bad for him since I can tell he's not comfortable and feeling himself.  Yes, it's a lot of extra work caring for a fussy baby, but really I just feel bad for him that he's not feeling well :(

Noah is still doing all the stuff from last week... smiling, babbling to us, and everyone noticed how much more alert he is now and that he will actually make eye contact with you :)

Postpartum:  After going out for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I definitely felt wiped out (I really haven't ventured out much before this).  That, combined with not getting as much sleep as I'm used to, and Chris having a cold, I got sick!  Yesterday I got the sore throat and just feel off in general.  It was really tough to deal with feeling sick while taking care of a fussy baby.  I hope for both our sake that I get better fast!

 

Happy 8 Weeks Noah!

Merry Christmas!

Noah spent his First Christmas Day at Grammy and Grandpa's (Chris' parents) house.  We headed over to their house at noon, exchanged gifts with Grammy, Grandpa, and Uncle Justin, and then had a nice lunch. 

We got Chris' parents a huge canvas of Noah as well.  

We also made them a photo album of Noah's first month of life as well as the annual Shutterfly Calendar :)

Noah gave his Uncle Justin a framed picture of when they first met at the hospital.  

Justin definitely spoiled his favorite (and only) nephew this year!

Noah is officially a stock owner!  Uncle Justin bought him stock in Walt Disney and had it framed... how cool is that!?!

Justin also got Noah a TV with built in DVD player for his room!  

We had a fabulous Christmas with the Flinns and I'm so glad we were able to get an updated family photo by the tree!

 The Flinn Family 2012

Noah's First Christmas Eve

For Noah's First Christmas Eve, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's (my parents') house.  It was just the five of us since my older brother David and his family are in Florida this year and my younger brother Luke isn't coming in until December 26th.  

We went over at 4pm for an early dinner and then exchanged gifts.  My parents have stocked the house with all the baby essentials... a pack 'n play with changing table, a bouncy chair, diapers, burp cloths, etc.  It makes it so much easier for us to go over without having to bring a ton of bags.  

Noah loved his bouncy chair

After dinner, but before gifts we took some family photos in front of the tree.  Chris posed with Noah so I could figure out the proper lighting.  

Noah with Grandma and Grandpa

Next it was time to exchange gifts.  Chris and I got two new Willow Tree figurines... New Dad and New Mom :)

We gave my parents a huge canvas of Noah... they loved it!

It was a quiet but very fun Christmas Eve!

Baby Noah - Week 7

Weight:  I'm guessing over 11 pounds now, but we will find out next Thursday.    

Health:   Noah's eye has cleared up!  I think he might have a cold cause he sounds congested and he's even started snorting a little bit.  I will ask the doctor again, but in the past they just say it's normal.  

Sleep:   This past week we started having Noah sleeping in our room with us.  During the week Chris sleeps in Noah's room so he can get  uninterrupted sleep and I can just keep getting up with Noah whenever he wakes up to eat.  Earlier this week he was waking up every 2 hours to eat, which was definitely rough, but we think he was going through a growth spurt.  As the week went on though, He's gotten better at sleeping longer stretches.  Now he's been getting up around midnight, 3 am, and again at 6 am.   

Clothes: His size 0-3 clothes are even getting a little tight!

Social: Noah and I went down to Grandma and Grandpa's house on Thursday.  I was going to get my haircut so they watched him for the hour that I was gone.  

Noah "helped" us send out our Christmas cards this week!  He's really getting into the Christmas Spirit!

Chris' friend, Ken, stopped by on Sunday and brought Noah this cute shirt!  He printed a picture of Chris and I on the onesie... so adorable!

Diet: Still pumping breastmilk and it's about 60% of what he eats a day.  Earlier this week he was grazing all day and waking up more often to eat at night... he was definitely going through a growth spurt.  Thankfully now we are on trend to eat 4-6 oz every 3-4 hours.

Baby Gear Love:  I started using the SwaddleMe Blankets at night now instead of making my own swaddle.  I found it's so much easier at night and it keeps him tight all night long.

Not technically baby gear, but we got a new couch and we love it!  Since we spend most of our time in the living room on the couch, I consider it an essential item to taking care of the little man.

Crying:   Usually he's really good with the crying, but Monday night was rough!  From 9:30 - 11:30 he cried loud and for a long time.  This is normally the time that I sleep while Chris watches him, but with the non stop crying I definitely was not getting any sleep.  Not only was the crying keeping me awake but I could not sleep knowing my baby was struggling.  I think it was a combo of being very hungry (growth spurt) and having bad gas... it's like he couldn't decide if he wanted to eat or be consoled while trying to burp or poop.  

Likes:  Noah is still liking his bath.  He doesn't love what's involved afterwards with getting dried off and dressed, but I find putting the nighttime lotion on him normally calms him down.

He also loves Grandpa Freel.  He came over on Monday when our couch was being delivered and we joked that he was the baby whisperer cause as soon as my dad started walking him around he immediately stopped fussing.

Milestones: We officially got a smile that wasn't from gas.  On Friday while we were watching the Michael Buble Christmas Special, I was singing along to the music to him and he smiled at me!  After an emotional day of watching the Sandy Shooting coverage, it made my day to have my baby smile at me while we were cuddling.  Every time I look at him I realize how lucky I am to have him in my life and my heart goes out to the families who lost a child that day.

Noah has since smiled at Grandma and Chris... we love seeing him smile back at us.  Now I can't wait for him to giggle :)

Noah also babbles and "talks" to us.  He says "gah" and "kay" in a sigh like voice... it just melts my heart.

Noah is becoming more and more alert every day!  He follows our eyes when we feed him and really locks his gaze with our eyes.

He's also kicking more during mat time and has quite a grip.  When we feed him he holds on tight to our finger, grabs the burp cloth, our arms, and often my necklace!

Postpartum:  Last Friday I got a clogged duct... it was not fun.  It really hurt but using a heating pad has definitely helped.

I went to the doctor on Monday for my 6 week post op appointment.  I have lost another 4 lbs and she officially cleared me to exercise.  Now if I only had the energy to go work out... at this point I just want to either sleep or spend time with Noah!