Growing boy / Dry Skin

Well Asher only got to wear this adorable button up from his cousin Anthony once before I deemed it too small, so before it goes away in a box, I thought I'd put it on him one more time, hoping his little belly wouldn't burst the buttons. :) We've just about switched over into 3-6 month clothes!

Sorry for his shiny face. He's got super dry skin these days and the doctor advised us to coat his face, head, etc. with Vaseline a couple times a day for a while. It seems to be helping, but I probably should have waited until after the photo shoot. It doesn't look as bad in this pic though as it does in some of the others.  Anyway, here's our happy little boy - 10 weeks today!

#Meagan

Chatty

Although he can't form words yet, Asher still likes to do a bit of chatting.  Whether he's laying down to get his diaper changed or hanging out on the couch with mom or dad, if he's got a full belly and isn't tired, he's letting you know what's up.  More often than not, however, he gets a little shy/obstinate around the camera.  I think that he hears the little chime of the camera starting up and he just stops doing whatever funny or cute.  This time I did get him in a bit of a chatty mood.  Enjoy :)

He's a blast, and he's aaaalmost ready to laugh!

Also, today he spit up on my face.

And last night I found him trying to climb up the back of the couch...

Today the couch, tomorrow Everest!

#Eric





A day late...

So it's a Wednesday pic, not a Tuesday pic, but with good reason. I've discovered the hardest part so far of being a parent... is being a sick parent. I've been battling a stomach bug since Friday, but thought I was over it by Saturday night and felt fine all day Sunday, but then Monday night it returned with a vengeance and I came down with a 102 degree fever, headache, lightheadedness, upset stomach, you name it. And well getting up every three hours in the night to feed Asher just became much, much more difficult. 

So anyway, I have an awesome husband who offered to stay home to help out, but in the end, my also awesome mom ended up coming up to spend the day with me! It was such a huge blessing. She not only watched Asher for me while I napped in bed or crashed on the couch, but also brought me all the best sick foods (sprite and jello top the list), did my dishes, folded and put away my laundry, and made us dinner. Plus I got to hang out with my mom for the day.   Did I get spoiled or what?!?   The chance to rest was much needed though, and by the time she left I was feeling much better! My fever broke around 10 pm last night, and am feeling significantly better today with nothing but a lingering headache left! Thanks, Mom.

So anyway, here's Asher's weekly pic.  His little belly just keeps growing!  :)  We also love, love, love these jammies from Great Aunt Reena (but then again, I've always had a soft spot for sock monkeys :) ).

Check out the little feet. :)     

                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                           ... and the little butt. :) 

#Meagan

Emotional Roller Coaster

The last 24 hours have had quite their share of ups and downs so I thought I'd deal with them by blogging. 

Let's start by talking about sleep.  (but keep reading... I'll get to his two month check up)

A little back story is needed, I think...   Up till now, for better or worse, Asher has been napping in the living room (and will go down easily in 5-10 minutes) and sleeping in a bassinet in our bedroom whenever we head upstairs for the night (plus he only has me up once or twice a night for for 30-40 minutes tops for nighttime feedings).  The trouble is sometimes it takes an hour or more to get him to fall asleep that first time after we go upstairs.  It's even harder when I'm already pretty tired and ready for bed myself.  So Eric and I decided yesterday that it was time to put him in his crib in the nursery for naps and sleeping... and to put him to bed before I'm ready to go to sleep myself.  We've slowly been working up to it.  He's taken a couple of sucessful naps in the nursery, but last night we tried it for the first time at night...

So let's start with an UP!   Asher was sleeping in his crib by 8:45 and Eric and I had some alone time downstairs without having to worry about waking him.  We paid bills. :) 

That's our video monitor.  Look you can see him sleeping!

The down... he only lasted a half an hour.

An up... after eating (which he was due for) and a diaper change he fell back a sleep in the crib!  And it was after all the first night trying!

The down... Even though I know it's for the best, I was pretty emotionally unsettled with him sleeping out of our room for the first time and it took me FOREVER to fall asleep.  I must have checked the monitor 100 times to make sure it was still working. :)

Can we do two downs in a row?   He normally sleeps 4 hour stretches at night but last night he woke up every 2 - 2 1/2 hours.  I was up 4 times instead of the usual 1 or 2... not much sleep for mom. 

Oh I remembered another up... when I change his diaper at night now, he talks and talks and talks to the dimmed light in his room.  Just jabbers and jabbers... g,g,g,g,goo.  So, so adorable. Last night was the most I've ever heard... almost even thought I heard a small laugh or too.

Let's just say we've still got some issues to work out around sleep.   However, all things considered, we have such an easy, happy baby I really can't complain that much about a few glitches in the schedule.  He is after all only two months old... which brings me to the rest of the 24 hours...

Let's talk about his two month check up!   

A huge UP for the emotions... Asher got the clean bill of health, he'd hit all his development milestones, and the doctor answered all our questions and made us feel really good about things.  For those anxiously waiting for them, here's Asher's stats:

• Weight - 14 lbs. 0 oz. - 93rd percentile
• Length - 24 inches - 88th percentile

The big down for my emotions was of course listening to him cry while he got his shots.  Three shots in the thigh and an oral med.

:(

An up...Eric came to the appointment and took on the duty of holding him down so all I had to do was the comforting afterwards.

The final down for the day, is that my poor little happy boy is in pain.  He's been fussy awake, whimpering in his sleep and just all around uncomfortable.  Breaks my heart. 

I hate to end on a down, but it's hard to think of an up right now... I guess except to mention that he is currently sleeping peacefully. And tonight will hopefully be easier because I think I'm too paranoid about immunization side effects to let him sleep in the crib.  We'll keep working on it though!  I'm not giving up!

I didn't start this blog to complain, but rather to deal with the emotional roller coaster I've been riding for the last 24 hours, so I'll end with the best UP of all - the blessing of having this baby boy in our lives is indescribable!

The roller coaster is worth it.   

#Meagan

FREEDOM!!!! :)

 

Well nursing isn't exactly a burden, but it sure is nice to know I can take a break if I really need one.   I've been gearing up to attend a ladies crafting night with a bunch of friends the first weekend in February (we're going to make Valentine Sock Monkeys!), and I was hoping to be able to leave Asher home alone with daddy for the first time.  So... I started pumping a couple weeks ago, and after last night, it looks like I'm going to be able to go!  :)  I'm sure I'll be calling 15 times to check in, but it'll be good for my emotional health to get away for a few hours too.  Thanks to an awesome willing husband!  (Thanks, honey!) 

So anyway, we decided to do our first practice run last night, and after an quick little "this isn't quite right" glance at dad, he took right to it like a pro and downed a 5 oz bottle without hardly taking a break (we are now big fans of the double nipple breastflow bottles - pretty cool technology.)   But I think I'd better leave two bottles with dad just in case (since our bottles don't hold more than 5 oz.)!  Asher's been making direct eye contact with me through his entire feedings lately, so I think dad enjoyed getting to have that experience too.  

Wait a couple more weeks, and I'll be posting pics of my sock monkeys, along with an update on how the night went away from my little boy - not sure if it'll be really hard on me or if I'll be able to relax and enjoy the night away from home, but I guess we'll see!

#Meagan

8 weeks

Well my baby boy is going to be two months already on Sunday.  Crazy how fast time flies.  We're starting to get into some routines 'round here.  Asher's a pretty good napper in the afternoons - most days - so I usually have 2-4 hours to get things done, which I appreciate since he's not much of a napper in the mornings and I'm lucky if I can do anything besides take a 2 minute shower and throw on some clothes.  :)  Nights are still the big unknown... usually he has me up every 3-4 hours... but last night he skipped a feeding entirely and went 7 hours for the first time between eating!   After his 6 hour stretch last week, I'm getting hopeful that my zombie days are soon to be over. 

Anyway here's this week's pic.  Eric told me I had to start just picking one, so we could scroll down and more easily see his growth from week to week. So I promised I'd try. By the way, it's outfit number 5 for today.  We decided after the big blowout on Sunday that it was time to move our big boy up into size 2 diapers, and were justified in our decision today as I used up the last three size 1 diapers this morning and he leaked through each and every one.  Not sure it was worth it.  Anyway, we haven't had a leak in the size 2 yet!  So hopefully the outfit count for today stabilizes.  I think that's enough laundry for one little boy to produce in one day!

Enjoy our sweetie pie! 

Okay, okay, I promised I'd try for only one pic, but I just couldn't pass this one up!

#Meagan

Back Pressure

On Sundays Meagan and I tend to dress Asher up so that he is looking dapper for church, as we've shown with a few pictures in the past.  Today he was looking good as usual, with a striped onesie shirt, some cute little overalls, and his little black shoes (the ones from grandma Anderson, as he's already grown out of the ones from grandma Dobbs).  Asher is sleeping peacefully through church in my arms, and then stirs awake.  Normally when he stirs awake he is wanting to eat, but today he was quiet and peaceful so he just hung out.  Suddenly I hear a bit of grunting, followed by the explosive, squirty fart sound of Asher filling his pants.  Other members of the congregation (within a 15 foot radius or so) look over, smile, chuckle, etc.  I'm laughing as quietly as possible, and my buddy Justin leans forward from behind and says "can you keep it down up there?".  I recover and continue listening to the sermon.  Asher is still peacefully hanging out, so we're good, but I can see a look in his eye that says he's not done.  (the slightly red, rimmed with water kind of look).  Sure enough a couple minues later, an even louder squirty fart erupts.  The same people are looking over and chuckling, I'm crying with silent laughter, but Asher is feelin good.  After another couple minutes he starts looking hungry too, so we figure it is time for Meagan to step out and take care of everything at once.  She takes him from me, and shows the huge wet spot up the middle of his back, where the poopiness had soaked through his DENIM overalls!  I later found out from Meagan that his onesie was just filled with poo.  So we finished church in a spare pair of pajamas, and Meagan is currently laundering the soiled clothes in the hopes that this particular onesie won't be stained after just one wear.  Alas, we have no pictures of his cute outfit today, but we exchanged it for a good story.  I'll take it.

#Eric

Sleep is fickle.

So last night Asher went 6 hours between feedings for the very first time!  Hooray!  It was such a blessing.  He ate at 9:00 then only woke me up once to eat at 3:00 and then slept until 7:00.  And that was after he pretty much slept all day yesterday!  I couldn't figure out what was going on with him yesterday!  I just could hardly keep him awake.  It really spoiled me.   I got so much done.  I had time for myself.  And I was worried that he wouldn't sleep well at night, which I didn't end up needing to worry about at all! 

It's a good thing though that he let me rest like he did last night, because today... he won't sleep at all.  It's 2:00 in the afternoon and I think he's maybe slept 45 minutes (three short little cat naps) combined.  He's fussy as all get out and I know he's exhausted but I can't get the poor little guy to wind down. He'll jabber and smile and then cry, and then stop and look all around like my happy little boy and then cry.  Not really excited to see what happens tonight.  Fickle, fickle sleep. 

Looks

When my parents were here, they brought various baby pictures of me because we were wanting to see if there was any resemblance between Asher and my baby self.  When my mom saw one of Asher's pictures, she went immediately to one from the pile.  I took the liberty of scanning it and placing it next to that picture of Asher.  What do you think?

As we keep saying, the lower half of his face seems to be mine.  The eyes (thank goodness) appear to stem a bit more from Meagan at this point.  Can't wait to see how  his features continue to change into the little boy he will become.

#Eric

My happy 7 week old boy!

We've actually had a fussier day today, so I'm going to keep this short and just provide you with the following sequence of photos that make these difficult days absolutely worth it!  Oh and the shirt was his xmas gift from daddy.  He bought it off one of his favorite websites ThinkGeek - for all things techgeek.  I actually enjoy quite a few things on the site myself, but anyway his shirt is a videogame term for a newbie.  We wore it today for dad, but it's still a little big.  Makes him a look a little bigger than he is, but he's not that small either.  7 weeks today - at least 13 lbs. :)

#Meagan

New Year

We've been into 2012 now for nearly a solid week, and still didn't get any mention of it into the blog.  We spent the first part of new year's eve at our friends the Pisney's house, and then came back home to relax into the new year. We watched the ball drop, took our little family picture, then zonked out.

And here's another family picture from New Year's Day morning before church.  Asher was looking quite dapper and we just couldn't resist.



Looking back on the last year, it's amazing to think of all that has changed in such a short amount of time.  Last March when we were two, free to do what we felt like, with little responsibility but for ourselves.  Then overnight you become parents.  They give you a baby and send you home.  Surely the biggest trial by fire I know.  But Asher sure is a blast, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Some things that have changed in just my first six and a half weeks of parenting:

- I don't check if he's breathing as often.  (still do it, but not as often)
- I've added a specific tone of voice to my repertoire.  It's an odd one, but it makes him smile, so I'll keep it.
- I've learned how to change diapers.  Yep, Asher's was my first ever, and I only plan to change those of my children.  And maybe eventually my wife.
- I've become confident in holding/handling a baby (not as fragile as you might think)
- I don't mind getting various bodily fluids on my clothes.  Most of my shirts end up with small spitup stains on the shoulders.
- When I hear Meagan make a startled/concerned sound, it is now generally due to her getting peed and/or pooped on while changing Asher.
- I love and cherish him more each day
- I appreciate Meagan more each day for everything she does.  She's an amazing mother and is doing a fantastic job with Asher.  I am so thankful for her.

Finally, I had the joy and good timing of taking this picture of Meagan and Asher.  Bring on the cute!

New year's resolution: Start patronizing the Y instead of just donating, as we currently do.  Gotta lose my sympathy weight.

#Eric

6 weeks

Well Asher's six weeks today!  Sorry we missed the 5 week mark, but we were out of town at Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's and it just didn't get done. It was great to be with family again, even though over the last six weeks since Asher was born, Eric's been home 17 work days plus weekends, and we've spent 27 calendar days with one grandparent or another. What a blessing!  I've really not had all that much time with Asher by myself, without someone else's support.  At times it's easier than I expected, when he smiles, coos, sleeps, and is just his adorable self, which thankfully is the majority of the time.  But there are times, it's more difficult than expected too.  Most often when I just can't get enough sleep, or feel overwhelmed by the mess that continues to grow in every room of our house, or the rare times when he cries and cries without being able to asses the cause and it just about breaks my heart. When it gets overwhelming, I try to turn first to prayer, but I also wanted to share a poem that my mom shared with me that really just helps me step back and put some things in perspective.

Babies Don't Keep

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

This time of life is short and it is precious. And isn't he adorable? 

This one was just too cute to pass up.

#Meagan