My sweet Ry at 6 months

So yes, I know I never did a 5 month update.... and the reason for that is because we never got his picture taken. The day he turned 5 months was the day my cousin got married and we were too busy that day, so we made plans to get it done the next day, and that was when we blessed him finally, so again it didn't happen.... then every time after that, something would come up and well by the time it really came to it, he was over 5 1/2 months, and I just thought it best to forget it. So come time for his 6 months, we made sure to get it done THAT day! So this will kind of be a combined update, and I will be doing a post about his blessing too, so it will all work out.

Milestones

-Rolling- He rolled from his back to his tummy a few times long ago.... but only in a fit of rage ;) He then mastered rolling from tummy to back by 4 months.... then somewhere in month 5, he became pro at both, and now at 6, he uses it as a good way to get around.

-Scooting and Crawling- Like I said he is starting to get around places! And it's amazing to me that I can put him on a blanket on the floor, go into the next room for less than a minute and he will be on the other side of the room! Don't worry, there is no danger to him and I never leave him for long! So he mostly scoots, rolls and then he does a bit of army crawling to get around.... and I am sure we will see some real crawling very soon! 

-Sitting- It seems as though he doesn't really like sitting, he really prefers to be on his belly because that is how he gets around the best. But he is a great supported sitter and can sit unassisted for short amounts of time and gets better every day. I think he would already have it down if he didn't get distracted and then fall onto his tummy to go check things out. He is already very busy! 

-Babbling- He has quite a few sounds down pat! "Momma" "Dadda" "lala" "baba" and what sounds like "I love you". I love hearing his little voice and watching him figure things out by using it. I don't think he knows what it means, but still definitely makes my heart skip a beat when he calls "Mamma" on the monitor when he's ready to wake up. You will see and hear on the video below :) He also can click his tongue, but I still have failed to catch that on video.... but hopefully soon! 

--

-Bearing Weight- has thankfully gotten much better! He did not like his legs much either at first, and only used them when he was mad.... are you noticing a pattern?? Steve's wonderful sister lent us the jumping toy he is in in the video above, and I believe that is what we can ultimately thank for his now found love of using his legs! 

-Showing preference for mommy- I both love and hate this. Daddy was always Emarie's favorite, and so when daddy was around, she couldn't care less if mommy was or not, which was sometimes hard on me. Now Ryker only wants his mommy a lot.... especially when needing comfort. So it has been hard for other people to watch him, and I always feel bad when I come to pick him up and he has been crying non-stop until he is in my arms. It also is hard when I'm home, but need to be doing things... he will let others hold him, but if he sees or hears me, he'll cry and reach for me. Hopefully he will not always be so clingy to me, but I'll hope he'll at least be a little bit clingy for mommy his whole life.... is that so much to ask??

Eating

So happy to report how much better this area has gotten since his last update! Since his four month appointment, I made an executive decision to stop bottle feeding him breast milk, and just exclusively breast feed. It was a lot of work and very hard with Em's crazy schedule, but we did it, and it has made for some vast improvements! He went from the first percentile at his 4 month appointment, to just under the 5th (4.91 percent to be exact) at his 6 month! And he's gained nearly 3 pounds since then! So I definitely think I made the right choice! 

We also started solids 5 days after he hit six months, and we began with a real "Ry pleaser", avocado! Yeah, he loved it! Nearly ate an entire 1/4 of an avocado like he'd been eating all his life! And today he had baby oatmeal for the first time.... which didn't go over as well as the avocado, but we'll try mixing it with something flavorful for next time. I am very excited that I purchased the Baby Breeza Prima from Williams Sonoma, I haven't used it yet, but looking forward to trying some fresh green beans in there as soon as our four days are up from the avocado (have to be careful since we are a food allergy family!). So I guess his reflux is still a problem, but it has gotten a lot better, he mostly just throws up toward the end of the day and his Dr thinks he will likely outgrow it by 9 months, and that is when he'll want to try taking him off the prevacid. But all in all this area of his well-being is great!

Picture on top and the left are his first taste of avocado, and then on the right was his first time with oatmeal, he was a bit distracted when we did this which resulted in it getting all over his face, including his eyes! But as you can see, he didn't seem to mind ;) 

Growth

Weight- 14.57 lbs which puts him in the 4.91 percentile.... or 5th as we're calling it ;) 

Height- 27 inches which puts him the 67th percentile

Head Circumference- 16.6 inches which puts him in the 16th percentile

Now as far as clothing goes. He can only wear a few 0-3 month things (mostly onesies), but mostly he is in 3-6 month and even a few 6-9 month depending on how the sizing runs. We are in another diaper dilemma at the moment though, and are limboing between sizes again. For the most part we have a system worked out. So during the day he is wearing size ones, and at night, I am doing my best to make a size 2 fit with whatever means and materials necessary ;) But it has worked, and we haven't had him waking up due to soaked clothes! 

Teeth?? No teeth as of yet, but it feels like there might be some coming in sometime. As well as all the classic signs of a teether, including low grade fever once and awhile, runny nose, increased drooling and wanting to chew on EVERYthing!! 

So they were very impressed at his check-up and after being assessed, he is above average in every area of development! ...... Well, except for growth, but he's made progress and they are not worried anymore, so that is all that matters! 

We sure love this boy!! 

Mother's Day 2013

Mother's Day was nothing terribly special this year, nothing like last year ;) But thought I still owed a post to the fact that I am now a mother to two darling children. One great thing is I got a new camera! For awhile now, Steve has been domineering the 5D mark III, and I have to second shoot with the 60D.... which is not a bad camera by any means, but there is a marginal difference between the two when we shoot indoors with low light, like say the concerts that we like to frequent! So we made a decision to see if we could sell the 60D for a decent price.... and we sold it within a week! So that was that, we bought the new 6D that was fairly new to the market. It has built in wifi, which was perhaps one of the main reasons we wanted.... other than the fact that is a greatly priced full-frame camera (great for low-lit concerts!). So with this wifi, it has the ability to communicate with a smart phone... so I can use my iPhone as a remote for it, or access pictures from the camera immediately to post to instagram, or Facebook, or wherever! 

But our first time really playing with it was on Mother's Day. 

 My two beautiful babies.... couldn't ask for two greater kids!

 My brother is in photography classes at his high school, so he had a lot of fun with my new camera.... can't say I blame him though, it is pretty cool! 

 Opening my present that Em made me at school... funny story about it, she had it in a sack when I picked her up at school the thursday before, and I asked her if it was for me, and she shook her head vigorously "no".... She held it all the way home and once we were at home, I asked her again if it was for me, she then hugged it tightly to herself and handed me one of her toys instead.... I guess she liked it! So when I opened it, she was very excited and helped me, and she has been nice to share it, but it is a picture cube of pictures from school, that she painted herself, she is very proud of it, if you couldn't tell from the story ;) 

 My momma playing with Ryker and I think Connor might have taken this one

 My cute little caterpillar wearing the outfit I had gotten him from H&M the weekend before

 Me and my boy playing peek-a-boo, I think Connor might have taken this one too :)

Hope all my amazing fellow mothers had wonderful Mother's Days! 

Easter 2013

It was a little surreal having two Easter baskets out for the Easter bunny this year. I guess it didn't really hit at Christmas since I didn't really do stockings and Ryker pretty much slept through the whole hoopla then. But this time he was wide awake to look at what the Easter bunny brought him and it was so much fun! 

 Em looking a little jealous as Ry gets his basket of goodies first

 Touch/Feel Busy book

 New car seat toy

Can't get enough of the book though

Em's turn! Her favorite was the Wreck it Ralph movie (we've seen it a fair amount of times already too!)

"What the heck is this thing?" That, by the way is a porcelain duck pot that you can grow grass in to look like his hair.... and it has come along nicely :)

Looks like he already needs a haircut!

 Waiting patiently for grandma to open her new Lalaloopsy doll

Still that movie is her favorite! 

After all that we went to my grandparent's for our annual egg hunt. It was also surreal to think that last Easter I had barely found out I was pregnant (we hadn't told anyone yet though), and now he's here.... and next year he will be joining in the hunt. Along with my cousin's little boy Felix that was born just a day shy of two weeks after Ryker, so they are sure to be good buddies! 

Ryker and Felix together for the first time on Ryker's two week birthday and Felix's one day one :) 

I meant to get a picture of them together at Easter since we never got one of the two of them at Christmas, but we failed again :( Hopefully next time!

Some more fun from the egg hunt

 Miles had to help Em get her hat on first (my mom got her that hat)

 And Ry was zonked for a bit at first... but when he woke up, grandpa was the first one to his rescue

My dad with Ryker

 Miles with his grandpa

 And his aunt Cassy (my beautiful cousin!)

 Em checking her loot

 My grandma watching

 Mommy helping Em as I do every year.... this year was much better than last though, because it was neither 83 degrees and I wasn't pregnant! 

Miles finding one under his grandma's leg (he thought it was pretty funny!)

And then of course had to do a little Easter shoot afterward....

 My pretty girl so beautiful in her dress

And I couldn't figure a good way to get Ryker in without me joining... so you get to see me too ;) 

And after we got home, we tried a few more pictures of the kids with all their Easter goodies. Keep in mind that it was late by this point and the kids had had a long day!

 Ry got an owl pillow for his crib, the touch/feel busy book, a new rattle and a car seat toy. I should also mention that his grandma (my mom) got him his adorable bow tie! And both kids got their stuffed rabbits from their great-grandma (my grandma)

Em was the one not very cooperative for pictures this time, so these are the only two we got of her

But Em also got a new book, Mouse About the House (super cute and interactive!), her Lalaloopsy doll, a new bracelet, Wreck it Ralph movie and her duck chiapet, as well as various treats that are safe for her.

Sorry for the picture overload, probably should've done a slideshow, but oh well! 

The Ups and Downs of a 4 Month Old Ryker

Our little guy hit 4 months on the 27th of March, but just had his 4 month check-up yesterday (April 4th). We have had a lot of changes with him in the last month, the hardest being the growth spurt that hit almost at the same time as the 4 month mark! It was insane to keep up with, I was literally feeding him every hour! Not an hour in between feedings, but eating at 3:30, then again at 4:30... so basically only about a half an hour in between, which made it impossible to get anything done needless to say. He was even, for the first time since he was about a month old, waking up for a 3 or 4 am feeding when he usually slept through the night at least 8-10 hours! That was rough! Thankfully the hardest only lasted a few days, and he is now back to eating at better intervals, though he is eating quite a bit more! And he is also back to sleeping through the night, so I guess we can't complain too much! I thought he must be growing like crazy, and he seemed to be as well... but I guess he wasn't so much, but I'll get to that in a bit. 

Milestones

-Rolling over- He is no longer just flukely rolling over when he's mad (our little hulk!), but consistently rolls over anytime you put him on his belly these days. And within the last week or two, has really been better at rolling from his back to his tummy... and I'm sure in no time he'll be all over the place! 

-Head Control- is pretty near perfect, and he is starting to move around a bit on his belly when up on his arms. 

-Laughing- doesn't seem so random anymore, and it is getting a little harder to get a chuckle out of him... though he still does laugh, he just understands a little more what it means and makes us work for it ;) 

-He is now playing Peek-a-boo!! I honestly thought it was just a random thing that he didn't know what he was doing at first... but now I'm certain he knows what he's doing and it is SOoo cute!! 

-He is also starting to hold his bottle, which is very funny since we use Tommy Tippees and they are quite big, so though he thinks he's holding it, I'm sure it will be awhile before he can truly hold it! 

-Feeding I felt was going great! He has finally gotten to the point where he is breast feeding more in the day than bottle feeding. He is between 4 1/2 to 5 ounces from the bottle and I'm sure he can get up to 6 from breast feeding since I produce more than that in a feeding. 

Stats

His doctor's appointment yesterday was a little disheartening :( His weight was 12 lbs 2 oz, which puts him below the 2nd percentile, so I'm just saying the 1st percentile, which needless to say was a bit sad for me to hear, considering all that we went through with Em at this age as she continually dropped off the charts. His Dr did make me feel better saying he wasn't concerned it was a growth issue, but rather can be attributed to his still problematic reflux. We started prevacid the very same day, though that has been another issue in and of itself! We got a script for it and I went to the pharmacy to get it only to find out that the generic solutabs have completely been pulled off the shelves, they were really hard to find when Em was little and pharmacies were always in short supply. We ended up having to get the name brand for her a few times and it was $60 a month! Well, the name brand is now $100 a month.... which is just INSANE!! About a year and a half ago, I started buying it for Em over the counter, which was much more cost efficient even before they had generic over the counter. But now that you can get it in generic form over the counter, it ends up being even cheaper than the generic prescription, especially if you get it at Costco. It's easy for Em because I just open up the capsules and dump the contents into a syringe that then goes in her g-tube.... Ryker however needs half a dose, and the contents inside the capsules are a lot of tiny little static balls... that are impossible to count or try and separate... but I did my best and I guess it turned out ok, it just took about a half an hour, but lucky I will only have to do that part every other day! Now the even sadder part is it cannot go in breast milk or anything else appealing. It has to be dissolved in water and poor little Ryker has to take it by mouth :( It is sad, so we're really hoping it helps! But thankfully, it already seems to be... the kid has not thrown up even once today! Which is absolutely unheard of for him! So if in two weeks (when we go back to the dr for another weight check) he still hasn't gained enough weight, then we might have to look at adding some cereal to some of his bottle to help thicken it. Or even starting some mild solids, which I really don't want to do yet. So I guess I will update again in a couple weeks on that issue.

His length is 25 1/2 inches which put him in the 63rd percentile... yup, still a string bean! But that was also a bit of a concern since he was steadily above the 90th percentile for length before, but maybe he's just trying to even out ;)

His head is now 16 inches, which is still in about the 21st percentile.

He is completely out of newborn size for everything! Including diapers. He has successfully been in size 1 diapers for a couple of weeks now, and it is SOooo nice to be out of that in between stage (when he had too much waste for the newborns, but the 1's were still baggy on him and he leaked out of every available gap!), we do have to get them as tight as they'll go though, which means the tabs are always overlapped (how they always were for Emarie too!). He is also very close to getting out of 0-3 size and has started wearing a few 3-6 month things, all of that of course is due to length though. Most of the 3-6 stuff he is wearing now is one piece outfits, 3-6 month pants absolutely drown him! 

So yeah, this month has been let downs here and there, but I am so enjoying the little personality I see emerging from my son. He is such a joy and we certainly love him! Em is still warming up to him, but I think as he gets more interactive, she will come to enjoy him for sure! 

Mommy Swap?

I follow a page on Facebook that is an online special needs magazine called "Parenting Special Needs". Em and I were actually featured in it last year with our Easter story and picture from 2011. But they posted a question that raised quite a thread of controversial opinions. 

Here is what it said:

"You know that show "Wife Swap"? Could you imagine if they did "Special Needs Mother Swap"?... it would be pretty interesting... (not very practical, I know) but, could you imagine? It would make interesting TV and raise a lot of awareness.

Just pretend... how would it work? Would you switch just "Special Needs Moms" or a Special Needs Mom with a Mom that has a certain number of children? Could it be done?"

Of course my first response was that I would be ALL for that, because I encounter so many people on a daily basis that just "don't get it".... Like the nurse for one of Em's specialists that couldn't understand how I could go 8 months+ over the time I was supposed to make her next appointment, I had to explain to her that Em sees no less than 20 specialists, and it is nearly impossible to keep up with who and when we need to see them.... some are every 3 or 4 months.... some every 6, others yearly, some every other year... it's enough to make anyone cRaZy!! I remembered after a bit that as I left the last appointment and tried to make another for 4 months later, they wouldn't let me, they told me I would need to call. I didn't understand this because I was standing right in front of the people I would get on the phone... but it was close to quitting time or whatever! So yeah, if I can't make an appointment that I then can put directly into my phone and later into a planner when I leave, or I don't get a reminder card in the mail that it's time to make an appointment, chances are it's not gonna happen! She still was not very nice, so again I had to sigh to myself after I hung up the phone that she just "didn't get it". Oh and she told me we wouldn't be able to get in to see the doctor until August because of my mistake, which meant that Em would go without one of her vital medications (her growth hormone) for that long. She told me I could try to call the scheduler and get on a cancellation list, or try and see another doctor. So immediately I called the scheduler and she informed me that I didn't need to see the doctor, I could see the nurse practitioner (whom we like better anyway), and she had an opening the following week... Awesome.... so glad I got that nasty guilt trip for nothing! 

So my point is, there needs to be more compassion and understanding for what we as special needs parents go through on a daily basis. But then there are times where I think, "could anyone else really handle this?" Please don't think of me as cocky because I am NOT... for heaven's sake, I barely handle it most of the time! But I have grown accustom to it, I have done it for so long, and it has adapted to us and us to it. There are things I have to do and face that I really wouldn't wish on anyone. Sometimes there are surprises.... sometimes there is devastation. 

Both of these were experienced at an appointment we went to last Friday. And I still don't know why I'm taking this so hard, but I am. We had a routine, yearly appointment with Em's cardiologist. For those that don't know, Em was born with a minor heart defect, called pulmonary valve stinosis, which means the valve that goes from her heart to her lungs is constricted a little bit. So far it is not constricted enough to be problematic and as long as it grew along with her, no intervention would be needed. So they check her, at first it was every 4 months, then every 6... and last year, her doctor decided yearly would be enough because everything was looking good. So this year when we went in a year from the last time we went in, I expected everything to be the same. You see Em faces a lot, but everything she has going on, we have pretty much known about since her first year of life, so anything new that would come up would seem as a shock I suppose. And a shock it certainly was when they told me they found a new problem with Em's heart... her main aortic valve is now constricted, as well as leaking, but it's nothing to be too alarmed about..... uh.... WHAT?! Pretty sure any leaking linked with the heart could be considered bad.... am I right? But no, she assured me that they grade it on a scale of 0-4, and right now she is at a 1+, borderline of a 2.... 3 is when they'd consider medication and 4+ is when they'd consider a laproscopic procedure. All very minor, nothing like open heart surgery. And probably something I wouldn't need to worry about anyway. So why then did I cry the entire way home? Was it just the shock? Was it the unfamiliar? Or was it the possibility that this could be a gateway to whole onslaught of surprises to come... that we may never know all that that missing DNA caused in the big picture of our little girl. Who's to say what could be next?..... and maybe, just maybe, it was all of the above. 

Now I may be worrying over nothing, but it is very likely that this will not be the only surprise we will get in our daughter's health. The truth is, she is at greater risk for a lot of unpleasant things, and that is something we will always have to keep in the back of our minds. I don't like to think about that, especially considering how close we've come to some really unpleasant diagnoses, like hemophilia, bone marrow disease and cancer to name a few. Thankfully none of them panned out though. 

So coming back, could anyone really do what we do? Even the things we consider pretty routine- replacing her g-tube button when it gets yanked out of her stomach, dealing with doctors and medical aspects, which includes an endless amount of paperwork, fighting with the insurance constantly, remembering dosing of all her dozen+ medications she takes daily, carrying her everywhere, as well as lifting her wheelchair in and out of the car.... and having to deal with the fact that you won't always get an adequate parking space to do so. Dealing with the stares, the looks of pity, the comments and questions of those who don't understand how much their words can hurt.... yeah, all that... this is all on a daily basis.

Then there's the other stuff that haunts my nightmares. The fact that a bad cold from a typical kid could be a deadly, nasty RSV for her, that puts her in the intensive care unit on a breathing machine fighting for her life.... and a miracle. The unexplained vomiting of blood that we still never know when is going to hit, and we still don't know why it does. The breathing treatments.... and the one that is the worst for my anxiety- the anaphylactic reactions..... having to carry an epi-pen everywhere we go, giving her countless doses of benadryl in the hopes that we won't have to give her that epi-pen... the outcry and scrambling when a child who has milk all over them is getting too close to her.... the constant worry when she is under someone else's watch, although I trust her teachers and those who help care for her, there is still constant worry. 

This is when I have to take a step back and realize I do a lot. And I do more than I ever realized I was capable of, not because it was my choice, but because I love my daughter and I would do anything for her. I think anyone that is a parent can relate to that though. Special needs parents are really nothing more than parents. All loving parents love their kids, and all loving parents would do anything for their kids..... we just happen to do more for our kids than most. So would you switch places? After thinking on it, I don't think I could. I would worry constantly that she was getting the care that she needs, and really I don't want anyone else to do it. She is mine, and even though I don't always feel like I deserve her, I was meant to be her mother.

Ryker at 3 Months

Oh how nice it is to finally have successful pictures of this little guy! What a difference a month has made for reals!! As you can see from the pictures, he is quite the happy little guy! So I'll get on with his growing list of "new things" and milestones. 

-As stated in his 2 month update he had been holding his head up for just a few minutes at a time... Well that is now much improved, and he is almost always holding his head up, and only loses control briefly after a sudden movement of his head.

-His rolling is still pretty much where it was at last month, but it was a bit of a fluke that he rolled over so soon anyway, so I'm sure we'll see improvements if we keep up with his tummy time ;) 

-He will smile at pretty much anyone that will give him any sort of attention! And he most definitely has his daddy's killer smile! And I love that just like his sister, he too can seem to smile with his whole little body!  

-He laughs now, which is so unbelievably amazing to hear! He loves to be tickled and have his tummy blowed on, and we have recently discovered he now loves peek-a-boo which his sister was delighted about! 

-He is also babbling much more, which is so funny! I love carrying on little baby conversations with him, and the best are his facial expression while doing it.... almost as if he really is carrying on a conversation, only in a language only he understands ;)

-He has a new found fascination with hands..... his, mine, his dad's.... anyone's really. He loves watching them, and he loves to eat them too! In fact, he shoves those fingers of his so far in his throat, he actually gags himself from time to time! Not so good for a kid who already is constantly throwing up! I will be investing in some teething toys soon! 

-Feeding is still a bit of an issue with his reflux, meaning he is still throwing up quite a bit. Breast feeding thankfully has gotten a bit better, though he still mostly bottle feeds, but still 100% breast milk for the little guy! 

-Sleeping is amazing for him!! And us, haha!! He is consistently sleeping 8-9 hours through the night without waking at all, and I can't tell you how much that makes us like him all that much more! 

-And as you can gather, he is much happier! 3 months must have been his kicker... his peak, because it was like overnight that he was suddenly much happier. Although he will let you know that he does not like when you leave his waking sight.... other than that, happy, happy guy! We may be able to attribute a little of that to the fact that his little digestive system has once again become much more regular, and I haven't needed to "intervene" in at least a month ;) 

As far as SATs go, I really only have his weight since he doesn't go to the doctor for 3 months. But that is 11 lbs 4 oz, which I'm sure is still considered on the small side. But I take comfort in knowing that his sister was barely 12 lbs on her first birthday, so I'd say he's doing pretty well ;) He is mostly out of newborn clothes, but still fits into some of them including all the onesies. Mostly he's in 0-3's. He is still wearing newborn diapers, but we're almost out of them again, and I think we will try the ones when they're gone in a day or two... hopefully they work this time!

And I promise this blog isn't all about Ryker as of now. He is just the only one I have pictures ready for. But there are two posts coming up for Em, one is for her 5th birthday that came and went, but it will probably be backdated so that I won't have to look so bad ;)

Ryker at 2 Months

I am still doing my darndest to get back into the world of blogging.... I do miss it, but I become so overwhelmed when I think of how behind I am. But I have to believe that I will get caught up.... one day. 

Our sweet little boy is now two months old and it's amazing how fast the time has gone! So here's just a quick little update on where he is now. 

Milestones

-He has been holding his head up for up to a couple minutes at a time

-Smiles!! Sweet baby smiles are the best aren't they?? He has been smiling for awhile now, but in the last two weeks it seems much more intentional. Every time you look at him or talk to him. Until yesterday, it had only been Steve or me that he had smiled at, but his grandpa was graced with a few when he held him yesterday. 

-Reaching. He loves his activity mat he got for Christmas and will reach for the toys on it and has been for a long time (not exactly sure when). He is also great at getting the music to go on it... amazing how ahead he is in development! 

-Recognizing. He definitely recognizes mine and Steve's faces and now our voices as well. 

-Mimicking. He tries so hard to move his mouth with you when you talk or sing to him, and has even repeated sounds back a few times, including "hi". LOVE THAT!! He is also doing a fantastic job of making his sweet musical cooing sounds of his own all the time. 

-He has always been very strong and has been able to bear weight on his legs since day one. We have jokingly nicknamed him "the hulk" because when he gets mad that is when he is at his strongest! Heaven forbid if you take that bottle or breast away from him to burp him before he is ready!! I kid you not, he stands up and will NOT allow you to burp him! He also has rolled a few times in anger! Quite the little temper for sure! 

-He tolerates and does great with tummy time mostly! And he has even tried out his Bumbo now.

-He has been quite the fussy baby and would fall into the category that experts refer to as a "purple crier". In these times, the best way to calm him is to hold him close to your chest so that he can look into your face and sing to him as you walk around. He now goes every other day with these "crying all day" days, and we'll take all the peace we can get! 

-Eating.... *big sigh here* Breast feeding has always been a challenge for him unfortunately :( So much work for him and it takes him over an hour to get the amount he gets from a bottle in 10 or 15 minutes.... so that is mostly what we do, I pump, and he gets a bottle. This is especially hard on me since I was so looking forward to this aspect since I did not get to experience it with Emarie. I pumped for two years for her, and she was and still is tube fed. I still try to breast feed him a couple times a day, in hopes that he'll keep the habit for if ever there comes a time when it gets easier for him. His reflux is still quite prevalent and he vomits at least a little (sometimes A LOT) during, after.... and sometimes much after each feeding.

-Sleeping. Sleeping at night has not been much of an issue fortunately, other than the fact that he doesn't seem to like our room much (this is where we have his bassinet)... So Steve and I usually take turns sleeping in the living room with him. We're hoping to get him in his own room soon so that we can spend nights together again. His room seems to keep a much better temperature than ours, and we're hoping that is why he doesn't like to be there. 

Stats

-Clothing. I have only had to put aside two of his newborn things, and the rest still fit him fine. 0-3 month clothing is still big on him in a lot of ways, and he gets so tangled in his 0-3 sleepers and gets mad! Unfortunately I have to use a lot of his 0-3 stuff already because he goes through so many outfits a day with his vomiting! Laundry is always ridiculous too! 

-Diapers. He was in preemie diapers for the first 3 weeks of his life because he is so skinny! We used up the last of the newborns that we had on Friday, so decided to try some 1's because we had some already.... but it seems they are still too big! His little legs and waist are too skinny that they are too baggy on him and cause leaking because of it... so back to newborns, and not sure how much longer. 

-Weight. He is at 10 lbs 1 oz as of today, which puts him in the 9th percentile

-Length. He is 24 inches as of today, which puts him in the 92nd percentile!! 

-His head is 15 inches, which puts him in the 23rd percentile

So there you have it, we have a loooooong skinny boy! He also got a bunch of shots today which has made him grumpy and sleepy :(

We really love this little guy though and we are so grateful for him everyday! I know that each of my children are a miracle and I view them as such!