James - 3 months

James turns 4 months old tomorrow.  I would say this is a good time to write up James' three month post.

Eat

You are on exclusively breast milk and you have (5) five ounce bottles a day and you wake once or twice in the night to eat.

Sleep

You wake each morning around 6:00am.  You don't have a strict nap schedule because we are always on the go with Evan.  You mostly nap in your swing but that's because we are suckers and don't want to fully sleep train you yet.  Maybe we will tackle that over Christmas break.  You go to bed each night at 6:30.  You have chosen this bedtime yourself.

Sizes

You are in 3-6 month clothes or 6 month clothes.  You do not fit in any 3 month clothes anymore.  You are our big boy!  You started this month in size 1 diapers, but you are now in size 2.

Stats

Weight: 14.4 pounds (at the beginning of 3 months of age)

Likes

• bath time
• making eye contact and smiling
• when Evan talks to you
• car rides (only when moving)
• being held--we do this a LOT just in case you are our last baby

Dislikes

• being awake after 6:30pm
• overall you are a VERY happy and content baby

Firsts

• grabbing objects
• reaching for objects
• holding on to objects
• you discovered your hands this month
• you started to like tummy time 
• Thanksgiving!
• Visit to see all your great-grandparents
• First long car ride to Louisiana, Houston, and Temple
• First Halloween
• First time meeting Santa Claus

James, we are so blessed to have you in our family.  We know that you have been put in our family for a reason.  We love you so much!

James - 2 months

James you are 2 months old!  I cannot believe this is true.  You are such a happy, patient baby.  I guess you have to be since your big brother has been seeking all the attention.

 

Eat

Since you are now in daycare full time, you are eating mostly from bottles.  You are eating 4 ounce bottles every 3-4 hours.  You still wake up 1 (maybe 2) times per night to nurse.  

Sleep

You wake each morning between 5:30 - 6:00am and take short naps throughout the day.  The only place you will currently nap is your swing.  We need to break you of this habit asap.  You are ready to go to sleep for the night around 6:45pm.  As soon as you get in your swaddle you know it is time to eat and start searching for food right away.  Overall you are a pretty decent sleeper except for nap times.

Sizes

You are wearing mostly 3 month clothes, but you still fit into most 0-3 month clothes.  You are definitely a big boy!  You are in size 1 diapers.

Stats

• Weight: 12 pounds, 9 ounces (74th percentile)
• Height: 24 inches (85th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 15 inches (17th percentile)

Likes

• Eating!  You love to eat.
• Your swing.  It is our saving grace.
• Car rides (but we have to be moving)
• Pats on the back (you will fall asleep while I am trying to burp you)
• You are very happy in the morning
• Sitting in your bouncy chair
• You don't dislike baths, but you don't seem to enjoy them yet
• Being outside

Dislikes

• Being in the car while it is stopped
• Getting hit with items that Evan throws.  Some examples include chalk, balls, and burp cloths. 
• Naps anywhere but the swing
• You dislike tummy time after about 5 minutes

Firsts

• You have rolled over from tummy to back 3 times, but I'm trying to decide if you were laid closer on one side and that gave you some help.
• Pumpkin patch
• Sitting in your bumbo (not for long, just a minute here and there).
• Balloon Festival
• You really started talking a lot this month.  We just love hearing your sweet voice!

One Month - James

James you are one month old!

Eat

You nurse on demand which turns out to be about every 1-3 hours during the day and then you eat about 3 times during the night.  You are an EXCELLENT nurser.  We do give you one bottle a day to get you used to it, but I love nursing you so we can snuggle. 

Sleep

You wake up in the morning around 7:00ish and are usually up for an hour or two before you take your first nap.  I like for you to have about 3 good awake times during the day because I have found that helps you sleep better at night.  The best way for me to get you to nap during the day is to wear your in the baby bjorn or lay down next to you while you nurse.  We put you in your crib for the night around 8:30 and you usually give us a 4-5 hour stretch.  Then you're up every 3 hours or so during the night.

Sizes

You stopped fitting in your newborn clothes right around the time you turned one month old.  You are currently wearing 0-3 month onsies and some 3 month clothes that run small.  You are in size 1 diapers.

Stats

• Weight: 10 pounds, 10 ounces (74th percentile)
• Height: 22.75 inches (85th percentile)
• Head Circumference: 14.75 inches (39th percentile)

Likes

• Nursing
• Sleeping
• Looking at light (windows, lamps, etc.)
• Being held in the baby bjorn
• Walks in your stroller
• Car rides
• Watching the ceiling fan when it is spinning slowly

Dislikes

• Baths
• the process of being swaddled (but you like being swaddled once you have calmed down)
• being poked by your big brother

Firsts

• You smiled on purpose for the first time on September 18th (you were technically 1 month, 4 days old but close enough)
• Following objects/people with your eyes
• First time to the park (you slept the whole time)
• You have started losing your hair on the top of your head just like Evan did.  

James' Newborn Photos

I took James' newborn photos when he was 5 days old but I just got around to editing them.  He was super cooperative and was passed out the entire time while I was taking pictures.  He has already changed so much (he's one month old now) so I'm happy that I took these pictures!

Check out that sweet face!  I could just stare at him all day long.

I can already tell that he is going to have Matt's eyelashes...long and curly.  The girls will be swooning.

The green blanket is a very special family piece.  My grandma (hi Grandma Winston!) made it for Evan and I used it in his newborn photos as well.  It's ridiculously soft and I just love it so much.  I hope this blanket gets passed down through our family for years to come.

Those eyes!  They are still blue and we are crossing our fingers that they stay blue.  I know it's a long shot, but we would love for James to have blue eyes just like my mom.

Of course I cannot forget to add pictures of Evan!  We attempted to take a few sibling pictures, but big brother was a little hyper and uncooperative.  I'm pretty sure all he wanted to do was jump around and yell really loudly.  At least we got a super cute picture of just him.

I'll be back later this week with an update on how our family is doing and James' one month blog post!

James' Birth Story

It's been a verrrrrrrrrrrrrry long time since I have written a blog post.  I was going to give it up all together, but then I started looking back at Evan's monthly updates.  I reread every single one.  I had forgotten so much about each month!  I just loved looking back over it all (plus recording the information in his baby book because I hadn't touched his baby book in months).  I decided that I just HAD to record James' monthly update as well because I don't want to lose those memories.

So here I am!

James was a scheduled c-section due to the complications during Evan's delivery.  Matt and I both thought that the baby would make an earlier appearance than the scheduled date, but that wasn't the case.  Even though I was having contractions on and off for days prior to the c-section, we made it to Thursday, August 14th!

8 days to go!

8-13-14  Our last photo as a family of 3

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30am.  I was hooked up to an IV and monitors.  My nurse told me that I was having contractions and that if I did not have a c-section scheduled, I would have still been coming in that day!  James was coming, planned or not!

Waiting to go into the Operating Room

Matt was ready to go!

It was such a different experience this time around because instead of being wheeled into the operating room, I was able to walk myself in with Matt by my side and sit on the bed myself.  I had some trouble getting my spinal block because I was so nervous.  I wish Matt could have gotten the spinal block for me.  He's much better at those types of things.

After I finally calmed down, the c-section began!  After about 15 minutes, the nurses lowered the curtain and I was able to see them pull out James!  He was so BIG!  Evan was only 6 lb, 11 oz. so we were expecting another small baby.  

8:56 am  8 pounds, 2 ounces

Matt and the baby never left the same room as me.  We all went straight to recovery together for about 2 hours and then to our postpartum room.  Thankfully James latched on instantly and nursing was a BREEZE.  I was nervous because we struggled with Evan and it was rough.

The only issue I had was coming out of my anesthesia.  Right after they pulled James out, I became very sleepy.  I remember Matt brought James over and I was happy, but all I wanted to do was close my eyes.  I barely remember being in the recovery room.  Later on in the day I became very nauseas and even threw up several times.  The worst part?  I threw up in front of Evan when he came to visit.  Talk about not how I had imagined Evan seeing me after giving birth.  

The rest of the day is all fuzzy for me.  The shot they gave me to control my nausea made me very sleepy.  I basically slept, nursed, repeat.  I didn't even have the energy to call my best friends.  My mom and mother-in-law brought Evan by, but only for a little bit because I was not feeling well.  Evan was not very interested in James, he just wanted some love from his parents.

By midnight I felt back to normal.  Our family dropped by the next day with Evan and it went much better.  He was able to cuddle with me in the bed and he actually took interest in James.  By Sunday we were clawing at the walls to get out of the hospital.  

Evan's second time meeting James

Evan gave James kisses soon after this picture

We have transitioned pretty well so far.  I still have yet to really leave the house much (I like to stay put in my pajamas) and I have not even thought of tackling a public place with these two.  Maybe I'll get the courage once James is no longer nursing every hour!