The Stats

I meant to write a little summary of Bradley's developments on his 1 month post but I forgot to! Today was his checkup at the pediatrician so I'll just post it all now. First things first--his 1 month length and weight are...

11lb 1oz
23 inches

Wow!! That means in only 3 weeks he has gained almost 3lb and grown 1 1/2 inches!! How's that for some super milk, ha!

At 1 month old:

• You usually sleep 2 hours at a time, with an ocassional 3-4 hr here and there
• Your nights and days are still slightly backwards, but we're working on that!
• You are nursing great and having no trouble with that area
• You are becoming the master of diaper blowouts
• You really only cry when you are hungry
• You are not bothered at all by noisy environments
• You love your bouncy chair
• You like when mommy wears you in a sling
• You like when we take you outside

In closing, some of you are familiar with newborns and their backward day/night schedule. Well my little man has been sleeping great during the day and not so great at night. So yesterday we set out to TRY to keep him awake as best we could for most of the day. It was very hard, and let me just say that baby can sleep through almost anything! But we persevered and he didn't nap as much as he would have liked.

So when nighttime came I fed him very well, and put him in his crib around 10:30pm. Now before, he would sleep for MAYBE 2 hours at a time at night, and was fussy when I put him down. Well this time, he passed out when I put him down the first time, and slept great until 1am. I fed him again (sometimes it takes forever) and put him back down at 2:30am. This time he slept until 6:15am. Once again I fed him well and put him back down at 7:30am, and he snoozed great until 11:30!!!

Unfortunately I still have trouble falling back asleep after I've put him down, so I usually lay there for at least 30min each time before I finally go to sleep. But I try to get at least 6hr each night (not all together of course). If only I had an "off" switch so that I could take advantage of the whole time he was sleeping!

Today he has been awake for several hours. He did well at the doctor--no shots this time, but he will get them at his 2 month checkup. I just fed him and he is sleeping so please pray that he keeps his nights/days straight!! It's just better for everyone :)

1 Month Old!

Our big boy is 1 month old today! I do kind of miss being pregnant and having him in my belly, but I'm so glad he's here and I can snuggle him and smell his hair and tickle his feet!! He is a cutie, and a good baby (despite his lack of a sleep schedule yet). My plan is to take a picture of him like this each month, then after he is 1 year, take a picture every 6 months.

He is doing well these days, nothing much new. No signs of colic, and for that I am ever grateful. I read it usually strikes around weeks 3-4, so I'm watching closely what I eat in case that affects it. He is eating good and still only cries when he is hungry or with the occasional upset tummy. His one month checkup is Tuesday and I'm very curious to see how much he weighs now!! I measured him with my tape measure and it looked like he is up to 22in, but we'll see what the doc says.

I finished his picture collage and hung it above his changing table. I also got in the prints from his birth and now I can get started on the next scrapbook. I went to Target the other day and used a gift card to get him some super cute footed PJ's, but they won't be used until this winter. I can't wait for cold weather to get here!!

Hubby is done with his summer classes until August 17, so until then he is here with me except for Thursdays. Unfortunately with it being so blasted hot we really just stay inside (not counting the necessary trips to Walmart). When it cools down finally we are going to get a new charcoal grill and make use of our patio!!

Our First Date Night

Our little man is 3 1/2 weeks old, and tonight was our first date night to dinner with a babysitter!! The occasion was my hubby's 28th bday, and the babysitter was grandma. She was happy to watch him, even though he had a small diaper blowout...she understands.

We got all cleaned up and dropped him off, then we headed out to one our favorite Italian restaurants--Zio's. I had the artichoke spinach pasta with a salad and water, and he had chicken alfredo. We decided to get a little crazy and shared a Bellini afterwards--those are delish! We packed up our leftovers, then walked around a bit at Walmart before heading back to pick up our baby.

This is him passed out on Sunday. I had a surprise bday party for Nick and invited close family to come and have cake/ice cream with us. We had a good time, and Bradley got passed around between all of the relatives. Don't you love his little polo onsie!!??

On the craft front, I finished my pregnancy scrapbook, and I think it turned out quite nice! The next one to do is his birth and coming home pictures. I am waiting on them to come in the mail from Shutterfly. I am also waiting on his birth announcements to come, and as soon as they do I am getting those in the mail.

Remember that elusive black dresser that was out of stock forever? Well I ordered it a couple of weeks ago, and it is now ready to pick up!! We are going to pick it up on Friday, and hopefully get it put together that evening. That way we can get the last of the boxes and chaos out of our bedroom.

3 Weeks and Crafts

Mr. Wonderful is officially 3 weeks old today! All that stuff I said about his sleep schedule last time--throw it out the window! He seems like he is trying to get his nights and days backwards again, and those elusive 3 hour naps are few and far between. I just have to stay tough and stick with putting him down for bed during the night, and trying to keep him active during the day. Wish us luck!

I finally took some cute pictures of him and got his birth announcements ordered! Here are a few of my favorites:

In other news...I have been knocking my craft projects out left and right! And you're lucky b/c I have pictures to show. The first one is of the dresser we got, and his new wall words!

Next is one set of curtains that I fashioned for our bedroom. Simply--nothing fancy. Mostly just to block out the light! They are dark brown and turquoise.

And these are curtains for the kitchen window above the sink.

Also made 4 matching cushions for some old bar stools. These I had to get a little creative with b/c I wanted to be able to remove the foam cushion to wash the covers if needed. So I sewed them with a slipcover-type design and they turned out great!

Last but not least...our boy cat Cuddles has always had the coarsest, longest, thickest coat of fur that would get matted so easily. Finally this summer we had his hair cut and now he looks like a little lion!! I think he really likes it too.

2 Weeks Old and Pictures

Mr. Fantastic (as we have taken to calling him) is officially 2 weeks old today!! His sleep pattern is getting a little bit more regular with frequent intervals of 3 hour naps instead of only 2 hours. The last few nights I have been able to pretty easily get him back down after feedings. And he's been successfully sleeping in his crib!!

Yesterday Bradley and I went to my mom's house in the evening, and from there we walked a couple of blocks to my grandma's house so she could see Bradley for the first time. I had to take a picture because Bradley is her first great grandchild!! She was very happy to see him, and loved all his hair. She told us about when she had her children--the first one was in November 1945 and he was only 3lbs! They kept her in the hospital for 10 days and didn't even let her get out of bed until day 8. Amazing how different things are now compared to then.

This is Bradley passed out in his Boppy. Great for nursing and great for naps! It cradles him quite well.

And this is him passed out in his favorite bouncer chair. I love how his hair sticks up in the back! Too cute. Now don't be fooled--he doesn't sleep all the time!! But right now I can honestly say he is really only fussy when he has an upset tummy/gas. These days he usually has a few hour span each day where he is awake, happy, and looking around.

In other news, I finally got my side of the craft room unpacked and organized since moving into this house. First on the agenda is sewing curtains for our bedroom and kitchen windows. Then seat cushions for our bar stools. And after that is done, I can start working on my pregnancy scrapbook!!!! I'll keep you posted :)

Our First Family Holiday

I hope everyone had a fun (and safe) July 4th. For those in central Oklahoma, you may have been disappointingly rained out! Unfortunately the much needed showers came right around sunset but most had cleared out before it was too late to pop fireworks.

Our tradition for the last several years is to buy some fireworks with my dad then go out to his land in Tuttle and eat/cookout then pop off fireworks after dark. This year was our first time with Bradley, and my brother and his wife joined us.

My brother grilled burgers and had a canopy set up so that we wouldn't get wet. By 9:30pm or so the rain had calmed down to a gently sprinkle so we commenced the fireworks. It eventually stopped and we didn't have any problems with it. Bradley had been fussy the whole day, but thankfully he slept on the drive there, throughout all the fireworks (inside the house), and the whole way home!! I'm so glad he isn't bothered by noises while he is sleeping.

We've been trying out using our bassinet to put Bradley to sleep in so that we can at least get a couple of hours in the same bed. He usually goes down around midnight for a couple of hours. Since he has been home, he has mostly stayed awake between the hours of 2am-6am every night. But last night he was a good boy and actually went back to sleep for a couple more hours after his 3am feeding! Unfortunately for me, I may have mentioned before I am unable to switch off my brain on command to go to sleep, so even when I have a chance to catch some much needed ZZZ's, I usually cannot. I even tried counting sheep, ha!

And thank God for technology! So far, he loves his vibrating bouncer seat for those times he is awake and quietly looking around. And today, daddy put together his rocking swing and he seems to like it for those times he is on the verge of sleeping and a little fussy. It even plays music or nature sounds! Whenever he gets a little older, we have a Johnny Jumper thing (that goes in the doorway) that I'm sure he'll adore.

One Week and Pictures

Happy July everyone! Nick and I have been forging our way through this last week--it is completely different territory than we are used to. I think the biggest change we are trying to adjust to is the lack of sleep (mostly on my part) and being unable to go to bed together at the same time. On the nights when he has to work or go to school, I camp out in the living room so that he can get some sleep without Bradley waking him up all night. I miss my hubby but this too shall pass and soon enough Bradley will be sleeping more!!

Here are some pictures from the last week:

Today was baby's first pediatrician appointment. Grandma went with us b/c daddy had to work.

You can see how much he liked being messed with! Overall he did pretty good throughout the exam and they said everything was looking very good with him. He goes back at 1 month.

So this weekend is July 4, and yesterday we all went and bought some fireworks. Every year we go out to my dad's land and pop fireworks. Of course, this year we will have Bradley and I'm not quite sure how that is going to work out. Do I sit outside and cover his ears when one goes off? Do I try to get him to sleep and keep him inside and go back and forth to make sure he stays asleep? Hmm, we shall see how this goes!