Four Months Old

(you were actually really happy when I took
your picture...you just refused to smile!)

This month with you has been the best yet! You smile, you babble, and you LAUGH! Over all you have become very aware and responsive which makes you so much fun!

You have gotten very good at letting us know what you are feeling. If you are happy it's very obvious and hilarious, and if you're mad you're not shy about letting us know that either :) But now that we've had four months with you we know you extremely well! I know you better than I know ANYONE, even your daddy! Calming you down and making you happy has gotten easier as we get to know you.

You can now roll over all the way from your back to your tummy, grasp and hold on to things, respond  extremely well to us, and you LOVE to stand! You prefer standing to sitting or laying down.

My favorite times with you are in the mornings. After your daddy leaves for work (at 5:30am) I move you to sleep in the bed with me and everyday around 7:30-8:00am you wake me up with your babbles :) You are so happy when you wake up! I'm usually still pretty groggy and sleepy so I just let you talk until you let me know you are bored. When you know I'm about to pick you up you kick your legs all crazy and excited and give me big huge gummy smiles! When I finally do pick you up you burry your face in my neck and hold on to me really tight. I always squeeze you back and tell you I love you. It's my very favorite time with you and I look forward to it every morning :)

Here are your stats from your four month checkup!

Weight: 16.62 lbs – 72%tile

Length: 26.9 inches – 97%tile (so tall!)

Head Circumference: 16.65 inches – 67%tile

We love you little man!

Three Months Old

Three months old? How did that happen? STOP growing baby! I like you little :)

This month was fun. You are becoming very expressive! We get comments all the time about your eyebrows…they always let us know what you are thinking or how your mood is. They are usually furrowed because most of the time you are very serious, but they also tell us when you are curious about something, when you are happy, concentrating…all kinds of things :) We love those little eyebrows!

Your baby talk is really coming along and you seem to have new sounds everyday. My least favorite is your new screechy scream. But we love your happy yells and almost giggles. You’ve yet to laugh, but you’re on the verge! We’ve noticed that you talk the most when we’re at home. If we’re anywhere else you’re too busy staring wide-eyed at everything to babble.

Another “fun” thing you’ve started this month is DROOL! Your shirts are almost always soaked and so are mine! We wonder if you’re teething since you love to chomp on my fingers (you like those better than chew toys :) but no teeth yet!

The other day you were lying next to me in bed for our morning nap and I just laid there staring at your little face. I got all wrapped up in your tiny features and thought that there is no WAY I could have dreamt up a more perfect little face. I just think you are so SO precious and perfect. I love you my sweet little man, and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for letting me be your mama.

Birth Story - Part One

This is going to be ridiculously detailed…seriously. So detailed in fact I’ve broken it into two parts. Sorry if you get bored. I would understand just skipping over it completely. It’s mostly for my own records. I don’t want to forget this stuff!

February 15, 2012

38 Week appointment with my doctor. I was really excited for this appointment because the doctor was going to check my cervix for the first time to see if I had made any progress. I had been feeling super uncomfortable for a long time by then (seriously felt like I had been drop-kicked it the crotch) so I was convinced I was dilated at least to a one, but my hopes were set for even more progress than that. Unfortunately, it didn’t take the doctor long to discover that I had made absolutely NO progress whatsoever. He lust laughed about it, saying that my baby would probably be born after his due date (Feb 27^th) and that for a first time mom that was totally normal. I, however was not laughing. I tried to hide my disappointment, but as soon as I left the office I started crying. I called Denzil in tears (poor hubby) and he did his best to encourage me. I felt frustrated that all my discomfort had been for nothing…and I couldn’t imagine another 2+ weeks of being so very VERY uncomfortable. It seems silly, but when you’re pregnant, it’s NOT.

February 22-23, 2012

39 week appointment. Again, I was excited to get checked. And again, same EXACT scenario (except this time Denz was with me). The doctor checked me, and just laughed saying, “This baby isn’t coming till March!” I had made absolutely no progress. We talked about how “ok” that was, but that if I went more than a week past my due date he would want to induce me. I was super disappointed, but I didn’t have much time to think about it because as they listened to baby’s heartbeat there was some irregularity. They didn’t seem too worried, but they wanted us to go to the hospital to do a “non-stress test” right after the appointment. I was glad Denz was with me, and luckily neither of us felt too concerned.

We went to the hospital and first had to get an ultrasound done to check the amount of amniotic fluid. The tech was really grumpy, but she was quick. Then we went over to labor and delivery where they put us in an actual labor room. We there met a nurse named Debbie (who was about our age) and she hooked me up to a fetal monitor for 30min to watch baby’s heartbeat. She was SUPER nice and everything checked out just fine! As we were leaving we both we talked about how nice Debbie was and how having a nurse like her for the big event would be awesome.

After dinner that night I started feeling gross, but it was nothing new. I had serious digestive issues my entire pregnancy (CONSTANT diarrhea, upset stomach, gas…) so I buckled up for yet another sleepless night. When we went to bed I was too restless to ignore my husbands snoring, so he went to sleep in the baby’s room on the futon to give me some chance of a better nights rest. Unfortunately his kind gesture didn’t help me get any sleep, as I was up about every half hour visiting the toilet. As it got later I started feeling more and more uncomfortable. My stomach ache was really bothering me and I even remember having the fleeting thought, “what if this is the beginning of labor?” but because I had just been checked earlier that day I quickly dismissed it. Well, my dismissal didn’t last long! A little after 4am I was extremely uncomfortable and half asleep when I suddenly felt like something was happening…like, an urgent feeling? I don’t know how to explain it. So I jumped out of bed and as soon as I reached the bathroom I started to leak! At first I thought I was peeing my pants, but what was leaking didn’t seem like pee, and the longer I stood there the more I leaked! It took me a minute to let the reality sink in that my water had broken. I was in shock! I yelled to Denzil “uh…honey?!” and he quickly got up to see what I’m sure was a very interesting sight. I told him I thought my water broke, and he was very calm.  I’ll never forget his sleepy face as he asked me with a crackly voice “so, are we going to the hospital?” I asked him to finish packing the birth bag while I took a quick shower. The feeling in our little home was very strange! It was very quiet, we didn’t talk much…but we felt calm! It was grateful for that :) While I was in the shower my contractions started to feel recognizable. I’m not sure how far apart they were, but it was a surreal feeling knowing that my labor was starting! I was a little worried about how it would go considering I had ZERO sleep and was very weak, but nevertheless it was starting! When I got out we finished getting our stuff ready and Denzil gave me a priesthood blessing. If you don’t know what that is click here.  The blessing filled me with comfort and even though I knew I was about to experience something out of this world and that our lives were about to change forever, I felt an incredible amount of peace. I was ready!

Two Months Old

(The reason this blog post is late is because I wanted to retake your picture but

I never got around to it. I was in a hurry to take this one before you started to cry 

and I didn't get the settings to match your other one. oops.)

So much has changed in the past month! Remember how I said you were practically perfectly behaved at one month old? Pretty much as soon as I wrote it you changed! You turned into a totally different baby! Some weeks you cried a ton, others you slept a ton, then you slept less...you’ve continued to consistently change. Pretty much every week your temperament is different. Figuring you out is challenging at times, but I’m so happy being your mama I don’t even care.

You’ve always had some tummy troubles (the gassy kind) and at about one month they were bad enough to keep you from sleeping. You would wake up crying all the time and we could hear your tummy rumbling. We tried all kinds of things to help you feel better, including kneading you like dough by pushing your chunky legs up to your chest and literally squishing the air out of you (so funny), but not much was working. I heard about some naturally medicated drops we could try (called BioGia), and as soon as we gave them to you things got better! You cried a lot less and slept SO much better and for longer. Yay!

Since you were feeling a lot better your temperament changed to a much happier little man! You started to smile at us! I don’t think I’ll EVER forget the first time you smiled at me. You were fussy in your stroller after a walk and as soon as I pulled you out and held you, you gave me a HUGE gummy smile. I felt so happy I seriously thought I would burst! Since then you’ve been smiling daily and we live for those happy grins!

This month you also found your voice. You coo and goo all the time. It seems like every day you discover a new noise you can make. We love listening to you! I always lay you on the floor and sing you songs and talk to you about nothing and it has been so fun having you talk back to me! We sound awesome…with me singing and you babbling it gets pretty noisy!

You also discovered your hands! You use them to rub your face when you’re sleepy and you love to suck on them. It’s really loud and gets super slobbery and always makes us laugh.

We had a fun time this month helping you to like bath time a little better. One day when we were home alone (dad was at work) I got a little bored and decided to see if you liked being in the big bathtub with mama. We tried it and you LOVED it! You cooed and smiled the whole time we were in the water together. Since then we bathe you like that once or twice a week and it’s helped you like your normal bath better too! This may not sound like a big deal, but to us as your parents, IT IS.

One of the best discoveries we’ve made about you this month is how much you LOVE being outside.  You can be super fussy and crying and all we have to do is open the door and step outside and you stop immediately! Your eyes get big and you look around very calmly. Since you like it so much your daddy has started taking you on walks everyday when he gets home from work. We even bought a little wrap thingy to make our walks more fun and you seem to really like it! You’re our little outdoorsy baby!

We feel very blessed that you are such a healthy little boy. You had your 2-month check-up this week and everything went great! The doctor says you are growing “beautifully.” 

Here are your 2-month stats:

Weight: 13.12 lbs – 77%tile

Length: 23.25 inches – 68%tile

Head Circumference: 15.5 inches – 65%tile

Look at you! You chunked right up and are doing great!

Almost everyday your dad and I look at you in awe that you are actually OURS. We feel so blessed to have you and we love you so so much! Not only have we fallen in love with you, but you’ve helped your dad and I fall even more in love with each other. You have changed us both for the better and I know you will continue to do so. Thank you little Vincent for being the wonderful boy and strong spirit that you are. We love you!

You love your daddy :)

We saw a whole lot more of THIS face this month!

Going to TOWN munchin' on your hand

On your daily walk :)

One Month Old

You are one month old today my baby Vince! It is already making me sad to see how fast you are growing. I feel like you look different everyday, and while I love that you are growing healthy and strong I just wish I could keep you tiny forever!

You have been a dream as far as first babies go. You are very mellow and very good :) My worries of trying to calm a fussy baby all day long were for nothing! You hardly ever cry, and when you do it's easy to calm you down. You sleep like....70% of the time, and when you're awake if you're not eating you just look around at everything very calmly. Your dad thinks you're going to be very serious when you get older, guess we'll just have to see :) I always said when I was pregnant that I thought you would be a mellow baby, since you were very calm in the womb. You moved just enough for me to know you were there, and not much more. I love you my little mellow man! You're my perfect little baby!

Here's a little summary of some of your likes/dislikes

Likes:

-Your favorite place to sleep in on your dad or me laying on your tummy. We love our snuggle time with you.

-You love your dad's voice! Whenever he talks you turn your head to find him. It's really cute :)

-Your changing table is next to a bright window and you love to lay there and look outside for as long as I'll let you. I think you like the sunshine :)

-You love the blow dryer! It never fails to calm you down.

-You love to be beat! Haha...well...you love to be pat REALLY hard on your back. Sissy pats don't help, the harder the better!

-You love going on long walks with me. You always start out awake and bright-eyed looking at everything outside and you eventually fall into a peaceful sleep.

Dislikes:

-You HATE waiting for your food! You go from zero to purple in a matter of seconds if you are left waiting too long. Luckily you calm down just as quick :)

-You don't like going poo poo. Lol :) Besides waiting for food this is the only time you fuss.

-Being "rubbed" on your back makes you squirm and you get mad if we do it. Only pats make you happy!

-You get really mad at me whenever I have to clean the boogies out of your nose. Sorry little man!

.....that's pretty much it! Seriously, you're such a good baby!

We love you Vincent! One month with you and our lives have never been better :)