Thanksgiving Eve

On this Thanksgiving eve...I'd like to write some serious things that I am thankful for and of course a sarcastic letter to Tim.

Dear Tim:
Thank you for proposing to me on Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncles house. You knew that it was my favorite holiday and that we go to my aunt and uncle's home every other year. Way to go.
Your soon to be ex wife,
Katie

Okay...that had to be said. Now onto serious things. I am actually thankful to Tim because if it weren't for his DNA I would not have my beautiful Charlie. I thank God every night for giving me a healthy child and supportive, loving friends and family.

I've said this a million times before but it needs to be said again. Charlie saved my life. My strength and resilience was as a result of the need to be healthy for him while I was pregnant. My smiles, happiness and resolve was all from the joy that I had while waiting for his arrival. So..
Dear Charlie:
Thank you for being my son. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for coming into my life and tainting everything with happiness. You bring light and joy to all that you meet. I've never been in love like this....you are amazing. Oh...and thank you for being a part of Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's house. You know how it is my favorite holiday and I am thankful that you are joining me for it this year!!
Your sappy mommy,
Katie

PS...Tim still sucks:)

My best friend...sleep

So Charlie has been in his crib since we returned home from Florida. The first few nights...not so great. he went to bed just fine but woke up about 5-6 hours after going to bed. Oh my...I was cranky and tired:) Well...my friend Jen and I were talking about his sleeping habits. I told her that I had been putting him to bed around 9-9:30 every night. He usually went on a schedule of eat, play sleep up until he went to bed. He would take a nap at 7-7:30 every night. Jen said...put him to bed at that time instead. So...I took her advice and began feeding him at 7:30 pm and putting him to bed at 8 pm. I have also been feeding him in his room, with the lights off and we listen to relaxing music. Well...that has been working like a charm!! He has been sleeping around 9 hours...and slept 10 1/2 hours last night. I kind of don't know what to do with myself from 8-10 at night. Ive been reading and watching tv. It's pretty nice.
Another funny side note is how much Charlie is moving around at night. I have a video monitor and I often will wake up to look at it, even if he isn't making any noises. I stopped swaddling him a few nights ago (mostly because he would Hulk out of it anyway). He is hysterical. he sucks his thumb like a champ..which helps him soothe himself back to sleep. However, he moves around like a crazy person. He has been rolling onto his side alot more in the last week or so. He will push himself off onto his side and suck his thumb. He often sleeps like this...it's so freaking cute. He will also start with his head at hte one end of the crib and end up turning his body 180 degrees to the other end of the crib. Hey...whatever works my son!!
Now..I know this could all change in a matter of a night. I take it day by day...and I am very happy right now!

more pics

3 months...Florida..what a happy baby!

Little Charlie is 3 months old! I can't believe it. I'll start off with his stats... On November 2nd, we had an appointment and the stomach specialist. He is doing well on the Zantac. They checked his weight and length while we were there. He was 12.5 pounds and 24 1/2 inches long. She told us that he was in the 20-25 percentile for weight and the 75th for height. Aww...he is in th 6-8th for his head. Small little head....the entire thing is filled with a big brain!

Charlie is constantly sucking/playing with his hands. He is a thumb sucker, but even more he just loves to gnaw on his fingers. He has been drooling alot too...which could be a sign of teething. He is reaching out to grab things with such determination. He is reaching out to faces as well. When I am nursing him, he will grab for my face, shirt and bra. It's so funny to see him trying to hard to reach his hand out to touch something.

He is still going 3 hours in between feedings. He went through a little growth spurt at the end of last week so he ate a bit more frequently. Its funny though because now he will nurse for 20-30 minutes. He was nursing for about 15 minutes before his growth spurt. Now..that could have something to do with the amount of milk he is eating. He went down to Florida eating 4 oz bottles. I gave him a 5 oz bottle down there (because that's what I pumped out) and he ate the entire thing. On the night we came home from Florida I gave him a 6 oz bottle because I had two frozen milk bags equal to 6 oz. I didn't think he'd take the entire thing. He did!! He sucked that down! The next day I made a 6 oz bottle for Tim to feed him...he took it. So now..its 6 oz for Charlie. My little eater! It's a little touch to keep up pumping these bottles. I had to supplement with formula for two bottles in Florida. He did great with them. I gave him two bottles of formula up here...he seemed to do okay with them too.

Charlie is a loud little baby. He loves to yell and squeal at his toys. When he is playing on his activity mat...he just yells away at the toys. He is grabbing them alot more too which is hysterical.

We also put him in the excersaucer two days ago. He seemed to really like it. His legs are so strong. He has been bearing weight on them for about a month now. He loves to be held do he can stand up...he doesn't really like to sit when you are holding him. He has rolled onto his side a few more times, but only really when he is in his crib. I've seen it through the monitor...not in person. He pulls his knees up to his chest and throws himself over to the side. Sometimes he will lay on his back and arch/stretch like he is going to roll over...but then he doesn't. I can just stare at him and watch him move, grab and play. It is absolutely amazing how much he is doing developmentally.

We had our first bout of projectile vomit two nights ago. I went to put him down at 9 pm. I was rocking him and he just looked at me funny. He spit up a little then it came out like a geyser. It was scary. I called the doctor and realized that there was nothing to worry about at the moment. He didn't have a fever, didn't seem cranky and the poo wasn't a crazy color. However, at 11 pm, he power puked again! I started to get really nervous and upset. I was crying a bit...but I pulled it together. I laid him right next to me in bed so I could make sure he was okay (im crazy...i know). I fed him at 3 am...he took it w/o spitting up. I fed him at 6 am..same thing. Since then...he has been fine. Not sure what could have done it. I gave him a bottle of formula that night...so that could have upset his tummy. However, it was the same formula that I had given him in Florida. Oh well..he is feeling much better now, which makes me feel much better!

I moved his bedtime up to 8 pm last night...as per a suggestion by my friend Jen. He slept 8 hours and then went back down for about 3 1/2. He rocked it! He is in his crib. His first night was 11/11 and he did well. He didn't sleep for that long (6 hours) but he went to bed just fine. I think he likes the crib. I think I'm the one that misses him in my room. cut the cord Katie...cut the cord.

We went down to Florida for my sister's wedding. I was very nervous/anxious about the traveling and change of location for Charlie. He was amazing. He did fine on the flight. I nursed him on the way up and then he sucked his pacifier on the way down. He became a bit cranky during the middle of both flights, but we walked him a bit and he fell right asleep. He slept in a pack and play every night down in Florid and rocked it! He slept 8-9 hours every night. Ahh..what a wonderful thing. He is so comfortable with people holding him...which was very helpful during all of the wedding festivities. My mom, aunts, uncles and cousins helped by holding him and feeding him at the wedding. He was great! He and my dad are like two little best buddies...so that was never an issue. They took a walk on the beach every morning to look at shells and the ocean. It was their guy time:) We put his toes in the ocean and at first he did not like it too much. He then became fixed on the ocean going in and out. He laughed a few times when the ocean would splash up on his feet. He is going to be a beach buddy!

The wedding was amazing. The location was just so beautiful and serene. I've never been to a more beautiful location for a wedding. Liz and Chris both looked fantastic. It was so "old Florida" which is what they were totally going for. I felt like we were famous people....very cool. Their ceremony was very intimate and meaningful. They both looked so happy. I turned to my sister during the rehearsal dinner and told her that I was so happy for her and so excited for the wedding. I admitted that I was a bit nervous that I would be sad at times, but I wasn't sad at all. Instead I felt happy and content with everything that was going on around me. It was a really great feeling.

Wow...I babbled on alot in this blog. I don't even know if my paragraphs make sense:) Charlie is taking a nap and I am trying to bang this out!

Ill leave you with this line from Kung Fu Panda which made me tear up a bit....and it is a perfect representation of where I am in my life right now. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift, that's why it's called the present" This is what I am working on...focusing on the present. My life is quite fulfilling right now...I am enjoying it.

12 weeks!

I cannot believe that Charlie is 12 weeks old as of yesterday. I have some pregnant friends right now and I love thinking about all the various stages of my pregnancy. Sometimes I actually miss being pregnant. Everything has just been such a whirlwind:)

Charlie is amazing. He is getting so big. He has been cooing, laughing and smiling alot. He also has two new best friends...his thumb and big bird. He has been sucking his thumb for the last few weeks. It is hysterical. He actually will suck either thumb that he can get in his mouth. He doesn't even really use the pacifier anymore because he loves that thumb so much. It soothes him too...which is very nice. As for big bird...now that is a funny sight to see. He talks to him and smiles a big toothless grin whenever big bird comes into sight. We had a small one and then Tim bought him one that is basically the size of Charlie. Charlie lights up when he sees that thing. We've tested it too with other stuffed animals to see if maybe its just because its different or colorful. Nope...its just big bird that gets that reaction from him.

He is sleeping on average 7-8 hours a night and then he'll go back down for a few hours. He is such a good sleeper. During the day he takes 30-40 minute naps every 2 hours or so. He has taken his last two morning naps in his crib like a big boy. He looks so funny in that big crib. He is still sleeping in the bassinet in my room. My plan is to transition him when we return from Florida. I'm still swaddling him at night and I did with his two naps in the crib. It really seems to calm him down and knock him right out. I don't know when I'm supposed to stop doing this. Any suggestions?

He is now going 3 hours between breastfeeding. It's so weird...I feel like it's such a long time compared to the 1 1/2 - 2 hours that he ate in the beginning. I can get so much done errand wise now without having to stop and breastfeed him.

He is in his 3-6 month clothing and looking so big! Some of it is just fitting on his legs because they are so long! He is a long and lean baby boy:)

We leave for Florida on Thursday and are there until the following Tuesday. I'm a little nervous about the plane ride but I think it will be fine. I will nurse him on the takeoff and landing. Also, big bird seems to occupy him for a long time. My sister's wedding is on Saturday. I can't wait! This vacation will be a very nice get away and relaxing. My parents and I are staying in a 2 bedroom suite so Charlie and I will have our own room. We rented a pack and play...we'll see how he sleeps in that:) My dad has a few excursions planned for us after my sister's wedding. Charlie is such a nosy baby...he will love to look at anything wherever we go.

OOH..he rolled onto his side last Monday. He did it twice but hasn't done it again. It was hysterical. It was just like out of hte blue he rolled onto his side and right back again. I keep trying to get him to do it again...but he looks at me and laughs.

PS I'm really excited to be in a bathing suit...