The Many Faces of Bo...(Month 2!)

I cannot believe it has been 2 months!  So much has happened in the last 2 weeks.  Bo has started sleeping 6-7 hours from when he goes down and then another 4-5 so this Momma has been getting a ton of rest!  I also realized after the gas fiasco that he would get "gassy" right before going to sleep.  I could not believe it when it finally hit me...my 7.5 week old was greatly fighting sleep and I had totally misdiagonsed the issue!  He is still gassy, but I finally put him down instead of rocking him forever and he cries but falls asleep within 10 minutes versus the hours it was taking me to rock him!  What a blessing.  I am able to be available for Abby Kate more now and Bo seems so much more contented and rested.  A win win for all of us!  At his 2 month check up, he weighed 14 lbs 9 oz and is 24.5 inches long, putting him in the 95% for both weight and height.  He is such a sweetie.  He giggles and grins so much.  We truly are so thankful for him!

Public Service Announcement...

I have a few new posts so be sure to check those out too on down!

But I just wanted to share a huge PRAISE and also let you all in on something I had never heard of nor would have ever thought to look for.  Yesterday Bo was extremely fussy.  It had been a bad night so I just thought he was tired or gassy.  Praise the sweet Lord that Bobby came home to get something and came in to see him and asked me what was wrong with his finger.  I looked down and it basically looked like 2 separate fingers, extremely swollen.  We turned on the light only to see his sweet finger wrapped with HAIR!  We tried to get it unwrapped and he started SCREAMING, I mean worse than I have ever heard him cry.  I started to panic and called one of my dearest friends, Heather, who is a pediatrician and also by the grace of God, she was home.  She explained it was called a hair tourniquet and that I needed to get him to my doctor.  I called and they asked me how soon I could get there.  I drove 85 mph to get there and the nurse was waiting on me.  The doc came right in and had to use a suture removal kit to get it off.  They can be extremely dangerous and can cut off circulation, result in surgery and most severely, in the loss of an appendage.  Heather said if a baby is super fussy, and they aren't running a fever or have no other symptoms, she will look for a hair tourniquet.  Most parents do not notice them until the appendage has swollen severely.  You cannot prevent them, but I will now religiously check.  Be sure to check fingers, toes and on boys, their private areas.  The picture of Bo's finger is a full 24 hours after the removal so you can imagine how bad it was!  We are SOOO thankful God allowed everything to work so smoothly for us to catch this and for his finger to be okay!  So be sure to check on your babies...especially ones who are still curling their fists and toes.

7 weeks!

Are his cheeks not yummy?!!!
Our sweet boy is continuing to grow and just become easier and easier.  He is sleeping 4-6 hours in the first night stretch and then 4 the second so I am basically only getting up once in the middle of the night.  His gas is getting a little better but still is bothering him between his 4-5 am feed to his 7-8 am feed.  Not sure how to help this.  I am also struggling with what to do for his 5-8 pm nap because if he takes it, he wakes up at his 4am feed wanting to get up and play!  And if I keep him up, he gets waaaayyy over tired and it takes me forever to get him to sleep.  So if you have advice, please share!  I have tried letting him catnap in his swing but he won't fall asleep in it!  

We have our 2 MONTH (WOW!) checkup a week from today and I cannot WAIT to see how much he has grown!  He is such a delight and is grinning and chatting now too, which has rocked all our worlds.  B, AK and I spend most of our times acting like fools trying to get him to smile, which he usually does happily!  So that is our latest on Bo...

Funny Girl...

I just cannot tell you what a kick I have gotten out of our daughter lately.  She is just so sweet, funny, and imaginative!  It really feels like she has matured 12 years since Bo arrived.  She will spend hours playing on her own or with Belle and Callie while I nurse or put him down for a nap.  She just loves to spontaneously kiss Bo or mimic my voice and words as she speaks to him.  It is so stinking cute.  And then yesterday, she decided to diaper all her animals and Barbie during nap time and "nursed" her bunny for the first time.  I amazed it took 7 weeks!  But she quickly quit that and just wanted a bottle for bunny, to which she carried around for hours yesterday.

And here are a few funny things she has said lately that I don't want to forget!

"That funder (thunder) scared me to DEAF (death)!!"

"Chucky Jesus"  (Chucky Cheeses)

After waking up super grumpy from her nap the other day...

ME:  "Come here Baby.  Can you tell me what is bothering you?"

AK:  "That dragon!"

ME:  "What dragon?"

AK:  "The one that keeps chasing me!"

ME:  "Did you ask him nicely to quit chasing you?"

AK:  "MOM!  He is bigger than me!"

ME:  "Oh."

"That's cool."

"Is that a good plan?"

"I guess so."

"Mom, I won't have any rotten in my diaper in the morning."  (LONG story.)

"You are the best ever in the world ever Mom."

"He's okay." (over and over when Bo cries and she doesn't want me to leave her)

"Praise Jesus!"  (when Bo stops crying)

Football Season!!!

This is one of my dearest childhood friend's son.  We were sorority sisters at OSU together, struggled through infertility together and now how precious sons only a month apart!  Aren't they darling?!

And this is another one of my dearest childhood friend's daughter.  They drove all the way in from Little Rock to meet Liv and Bo and we had a ball.  Abby Kate and Adi are precious friends(as you can tell) and we were so sad they had to move so far away for Adi's Mommy's residency!

Waiting on the walk (parade)....




It is my FAVORITE time of the year!!!!  YEAH fall!  Though watching football bores me to tears, I LOVE football season....tailgating, seeing old friends, eating great food and taking a nap while football is on, that is why I love football season!  So my Cowboys kicked off the season with a big win!  Bo got to experience his first tailgate and Abby Kate was giddy excited about seeing the cheerleaders, the band and Pistol Pete up close.  We had a great tailgating spot and the football players, cheerleaders and the band walk to the stadium right past us.  It was so much fun!  The fam went to the game and Ashley, Liv, Bo, Abby Kate, Aunt Lynn and Uncle Joe all went to Nannie's to watch the game and play.  We truly had a ball!  We also have Arkansas season tickets, Daddy's team, and will have that first home game soon.  He says he is taking Abby Kate but I think that will only happen once.  We tried taking her last year and it only lasted one quarter!  But knowing him, he will make it super fun for them anyway.  He is her magicmaker!

So here is to a fun fall!

1 Month!!!

Oh my word!  How has a whole month gone by?  In so many ways, it feels like years but in others, I feel like I was in the hospital only yesterday.  Our precious boy is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds.  We have continued to have massive gas issues so we went back to the doctor on Wednesday and they put him on reflux medicine.  I cannot begin to tell you how much of difference it has made.  Literally, he is a different kid!  He really wasn't that bad to begin with, but his sleep was being interrupted 80-85% of the time with this horrible gas.  He would scream and kick and we could pump his legs and make it better for a short period of time.  Since starting the medicine yesterday, he has slept 4 hour stretches at night and is taking 2 hour naps between each feed.  Oh and by the way, the boy is 12 lbs 3 oz!!!  He really is a hunk!  Everyone who sees him comments on how huge his hands and feet are.  He really is a big boy!  

And he is just so sweet!  He gave us his first grin this week and I caught a glimpse of it today on my camera.  He is such a cuddly baby and is super observant just like his sweet sister.  Needless to say, we are giddy in love with him!

Abby Kate's Ballet Debut

Abby Kate has loved to dance forever.  It has recently reached fever pitch after she has seen comericals for a new show that has 4 teens singing and dancing.  She knows every word to every song and every dance move they do.  I am DYING to get it recorded.  It is literally the funniest and cutest thing I have ever seen.  So we decided to go ahead and let her take dance lessons.  She started this week.  It is a 45 minute class of ballet and tap.  She was more excited about this than anything I have seen lately!  The "costume" was her favorite.  She looked so sweet in her dance getup it literally made me teary.  I got to watch only a little.  We found out the morning of class that it was actually 45 minutes earlier than we thought so it threw our nursing schedule WAY off.  Bo wanted to eat as soon as we got there and the window to watch was up high so I was devestated I didn't get to see much of it.  The little I did watch she spent the majority of the time watching herself in the mirror and ignoring the teacher.  We had a little talk about that.  But she is already talking about next week constantly!  Can't wait!

Bo...

Here are my favorites from our first 3 weeks!  It so many ways it seems like he has been in our family forever.  In others...trying to get out the door with 2 kids, loading 2 kids in car seats, coordinating schedules, feeding 8-10 times a day while trying to entertain an active 3.5 year old, NO SLEEP...yeah, all of those...not so much.  It really has been a comedy of errors but this week has been so much better.  I really think it just takes time to get to know your new child and to recall what to do!  I will say I have been SO much more relaxed this time around.  Everyone told me I would be so I am thankful they were right.  It just helps to know things will get easier eventually.  

So here are the things I want to jot down for my memory.  I hate that I didn't write this stuff down for AK and now I would KILL for the notes.

He was SUPER gassy the first couple of weeks.  I think we finally have that under control (and God did some major healing!).  I have elminated dairy and acidic foods, am nursing him sitting up, burping for 5 minutes after each side, using Mylicon before each feed and putting him on a wedge to sleep.  He also appears to be reflux-y but it is silent.  He does not spit up.  You can just hear it come up and he gets really upset and swallows it.

This week has been the first week I have been able to get him awake after feeds.  He has a hard time not getting overtired though and I am still playing with how long he needs to be awake.  I have been rocking him to sleep but tried yesterday putting him down awake and he only cried a bit.  I went in to comfort him once, put in the paci and he conked out.  In so wish I could rock him all the time but it was taking 30 minutes to get him to sleep and I can't do that all day with Abby Kate.  

I started yesterday putting him on his tummy for naps and he loves it.  I have watched closely and he has wonderful head control so this has been such a better sleep position for him.  He actually almost flipped himself yesterday when he got gassy!  We didn't even make it this long with Abby Kate!  She was on her stomach by the first week.  

Last night was a great night.  It has been hard getting him to sleep from feed to feed.  But he did it last night!  It was wonderful and I feel great today!  

I have had a great milk supply this time.  I have just really worked on getting him to take full feeds.  I have 2 large let downs.  One in the beginning and one around 12-14 minutes.  He is nursing about 15-20 minutes on one side and 5-7 on the other.  The longer he nurses on the first side the better he sleeps.  I have pumped a few times and have been getting about 3-4 ounces per side.

I am going to try to introduce a bottle this next week (and pump).  I have been told if you wait much past 4 weeks you may have a harder time with them taking it.

So that is our life!  We are LOVING our sweet Bo and are so thankful God entrusted him to us!

A New Beginning!

Many of you have asked if I was going to start a blog for Bo but I decided to lump his and Abby Kate's together, seeing as how most pictures will be of them!  So here is our first batch of brother and sister pics!  Abby Kate loves her brother or Bubby as she calls him.  She loves for me to put him in bed with her in the mornings and just giggles as he lays there.  However she is NOT A FAN of his crying.  Today in the car he started to cry and she yelled, "MOM!  Let me out of here!"  I just died laughing, rolled down the windows and made them both happy!  She did hold her ears as he cried though.  I asked her to put in his paci and she yelled, "Not right now!!!"  So much for her being my helper in these situations!

I have a TON more pics to post and lots to share but it is time to feed again so more later!  

Mischievous...

During quiet time a few weeks ago,  I heard a strange noise.  Abby Kate's bed is against a wall and she often kicks it as she lays in bed.  But this was a scratching.  Curious, I went in her room, finding this!  I almost freaked out but said sternly, "ABBY KATE!!! WE DO NOT COLOR ON WALLS!"  And to which she replied, "MOM!  Don't say no, say hooray!"  She was devestated when I had to clean the walls.  She sobbed saying, "My beautiful rainbow!  Oh Mom!  Not my beautiful drawing!"  So not to stifle our budding artist, I gently reminded her she has an easel in her playroom and that is where we color, not walls.  Ever again.  

Playing with Belle....

I cannot get over how long-suffering our dog is...see for yourself.

My Daughter, My Love...

I just wanted to share with you a few tidbits that have been consuming my mind lately.  That and record, while I have the time and the memory.  

For three years, I have had a sole focus, a very special little girl who has had my exclusive attention.  I have had nothing more important, nor wanted to do anything other than to study her, be with her.  I have learned so much.  I have loved most every second.  And to my utter delight, this child of ours has become one of the dearest people to me.  Not only because I am her mother, but simply because I like her.  It makes me so happy to be able to say that.  Even after long days with just the two of us.  Even after battle of the wills that wage almost daily.  Even after discipline.  She is my buddy, my sweet child whom I adore.  And here are a few reasons why...

*  She is quite simply the most observant person I have ever met.  It seems to me that even at the age of three, she has mastered the art of observation.  Even from birth, it seemed she took in every detail, smell, sound and taste.  I love this fact.  I pray God will continue to develop this trait in her.  Because to me, it takes a special person to observe.  These are the few people in this crazy world that keep their eyes off their self and onto others.  They are the ones who if submitted to the Lord, will develop the precious gift of discernment and will see when others are hurting or scared or sad or confused, even if they are trying to show the world otherwise.  And prayerfully, she will be able to minister to those.

*  She is an encourager.  This is linked to her observant heart.  She will notice the little details in another.  Eyeglasses; a necklace, ring or earrings; the way you have your hair; your clothes; the expression on your face...and then she always, and I mean always, tells you something sweet about these things.  Usually using the word beautiful in there somewhere.  Who doesn't love to be told they are beautiful?  She brightens my day so many times by speaking these precious words of life.

*  She loves babies and animals.  I mean loves them.  She usually talks to them in a higher pitched voice, talking about how cute or tiny they are.  She is gentle and patient.  She will sit with Belle, our ancient lab for hours just petting and loving on her.  

*  She has a great vocabulary.  This is just a minor one.  But I love hearing big words come out of her small mouth.  Words like: certainly, absolutely, most definitely, etc...(I just noticed all of these words are synonyms :), guess I better stop teaching her words of absolutes :)

*  She loves a thrill.  She is such a little lady in so many ways.  She loves clothes.  She loves jewelry.  She loves sparkle and crowns.  She loves shoes.  But she is also super tough.  She loves to be scared.  She can fall down and have blood pouring off of her and never even whimper.  She can be dramatic, but rarely about things that physically hurt her.  She loves being thrown in the air, pushed as high as a swing will go, going down huge hills in the car.  I love that she loves adventure.  This will be such a sweet ministry to her husband...as I know it is one of Bobby's biggest complaints about me.  I am VERY cautious to say the least.

*  She has a super vivid imagination.  This is actually one thing we have in common.  I love hearing the things that comes out of her mouth.  The ideas she dreams up.  It often is mimicking a show we watched, which makes us (or needs to make us) more hyper vigilant about what she watches.  The great thing is though, as much as she wants us to follow script, she often throws her own twist in there, which delights me to no end.  Like yesterday when she decided to make a "flower bed" (a towel, her pillow and bunny under the shade of 3 of my huge pots) and take a nap outside (I think this was primarily motivated by the fact that this shady area is Belle's favorite rest spot and AK wanted to rest beside her BFF).

*  And a spin off the last, she adores a good story.  My single favorite thing is curling up with her to read a good book.  I love that she notices every little thing on each page.  I love that she asks why one looks happy or sad.  I love that she remembers days, even weeks later, what the story entailed.  Even stories I make up.  I know this sounds silly, but being the bibliophile I am, I so desired for my children to love the written word.  AK not only loves it, but loves any good story, told visually, audibly or written.  

*  And finally, she is HER.  She has a ton of idiosyncrasies that I could share but are probably only entertaining to us.  She has a strong will but a tender heart.  She cannot stand to see or hear someone cry.  She is easily delighted.  She is opinionated (she comes by that honest), smart and sharp.  She laughs easily but takes important things seriously.  She tests every boundary laid out there but responds well when actually disciplined.  She is just a GREAT KID, a daughter to whom our hearts delight!  And we are so deeply thankful we have had solely her for the past 3.5 years.  We cannot wait to add Bo to our family.  Cannot wait to see Abby Kate become a big sister.  But I just wanted to take the time to celebrate our only child one last time.  Thank you Father, with all the we are, for entrusting her to us.  Thank you for giving us a front row seat to watch all you have planned for her life.  We cannot wait!