Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Jase's 11th Week

Weight: Right around 14 lbs now! I feel like I'm pretty strong, & I struggle to carry him in his carrier....that joker is heavy!
I'm the same weight, but my body is looking more and more "normal."

Health: After more research, I think the drool is the early stages of teething, although that doesn't necessarily mean he is cutting teeth yet.

Still a big, healthy, happy boy. We are blessed he has a great demeanor and rarely fusses or cries. Love his big, bright eyes & sweet facial expressions!!

Fingernails are growing like crazy, & blonde hair starting to come back in.

I'm pretty sure he was having a "wonder week" leap this week. Glad Larissa reminded me to download the app....makes total sense! The babies are learning so much & their brains are almost on overload taking in all of the new info and learning their new skills.
Look how long he is!!!
Sleep: Yikes!!! This week was ROUGH in the sleep department!! Jase started waking up about 30- 45 min into every nap (hello, 45 minute intruder) and it was BRUTAL. He can roll over really well so I had to do a "convertible swaddle," but he'd still cry every time I'd lay him down on his back. Pretty much the only way he would sleep was on my chest. We tried dropping the dream feed and only did it if he woke up for it, so he was waking up around 1:30- 2:30 night for a quick 5-10 min feed, and straight back down. Then he would wake up again around 5, which made our 7 am start time prettttty tough. I slept through my alarm several days & ended up starting around 8-9. GOT to be consistent with wake time, so that's my goal for this week. And I have to get in bed earlier myself. Midnight and later is just not cuttin' it...
 
 
Nursing: Getting faster. I typically nurse one side for about 15-20 minutes, and offer the other side. He likes to take breaks

What Jase is up to: We went on our first little trip to Amelia Island with our Advocare teams. We had a BLAST!!!! We LOVE our Advocare family, & it was SO NICE to get away and unplug from the phone and computer for a few days.
Jase was seriously an angel baby in the car...stayed right on his schedule and slept the majority of the way. I nursed in the car once, pumped a bottle on the way, AND fed him in Ruby Tuesday. Jonathan was SO embarrassed (so I probably won't do that much anymore), but I had a nursing cover on, so I was cool with it.
 
Check out lil man's moves!!
Fun at Amelia!
Peyton & I won the egg toss. DUH! We don't mess around.
Beautiful Madison!
First ride in the stroller like a big boy with no carseat!
He can "hold his own bottle." Ha!
We are working on a 3.5 hour schedule now, and shooting for 7, 10:30, 2:00, 5:30, & 8:30-9.  It's happened a couple times, but sometimes he still wakes up ready to eat at 3 hours. Plus, our times have been off a little because of our later wake time.

LOTS more talking & cooing & singing this week! He is just the sweetest, happiest baby!!! Everyone talks about what a good baby he is and how he's so content. And so strong. And so alert. Proud mama!!
Rolling over like a champ!
And myyyyy goooodness this little man LOOOOOOOVES his daddy!!!
 
Smiling for Daddy...
 Loves his Grammy too!!
   
PostPartum: Been making it back to the gym a couple times a week. It is tough to find time, but I'm doing it. I get why people say they don't have time -I don't have anyone to watch him during the day, so I can't go then.  And nighttime is when we work our Advo business and go to church on Wednesdays, so time is limited for sure there too. BUT, I make it work. It takes discipline, effort, and planning. I try to cook supper during the day so it's ready in the evenings and just has to be heated up...that helps.

My posture is TERRIBLE from always hunching over to look at him, talk to him, nurse, etc. Going to make a conscious effort to improve that.

Baby Gear: Water Babies sunblock, Baby Hymns cd (he LOVES it!), Medela hand pump for the car, disposable changing pads, bouncie seat, play mat

Thoughts: Being a mommy is HARD work. There are so many unknowns, and babies are always changing. As soon as you have them "figured out," they go through another change- a growth spurt, wonder week, schedule change, new milestone, etc. I am learning to trust my mommy gut more...because nobody knows Baby Jase better than ME. I am also learning to embrace the fact that this is not an "easy job." I will never 'master' mommyhood and can only do my very best to prayerfully raise him the best way possible. It's definitely helpful talking to other mommy friends and get advice- I'm super thankful for a strong network of moms!! But still,  I was thinking back to his first few weeks, and how incredibly HARD it was. I was wondering if I painted a realistic enough picture during the first few weeks on the blog, because I tend to be overly optimistic and choose to focus on the positive (which I happen to think is a good quality- it definitely makes me a happier, more pleasant person).
But ya know what? No matter how challenging this is and will always be, I have NEVER experienced anything more rewarding. EVER. I LOVE his sweet smiles, his cooing, and him singing with me about Jesus. I LOVE watching him with Jonathan and how Jon just goes straight daddy mode any time he is around Jase. (There is something REALLY HOT about watching your hubby be so in love with a baby & being such a JAM UP father.) I LOVE knowing I am teaching him about the Lord & raising a little man. I LOVE watching him grow & learn. I feel SO BEYOND blessed knowing God CHOSE me to be this precious little fella's mommy.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Jase’s 10th Week!

July 11- July 18

Baby Jase is 10 weeks old today, which means I’m actually on time! Here’s what he was up to during his 10th week…

Weight: At his appointment on June 13th, Jase weighed 13.4 lbs, which is the 85th percentile for his age. His head was in the 70th percentile @ 16”, and his length/height was 95+ percentile at 25” long!!! We have a BIG boy on our hands, ladies and gentleman!! Jonathan has a lot of height on his mom’s side of the family, & I was adopted but know there is some height on my biological mom’s side too (& not sure about my dad’s side), so he may be a tall fella!

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I had an “assessment” at the gym this week and weighed 142. I currently have 22.2% body fat, which isn’t too too bad after having a baby. Honestly, I could care less what I weigh (as long as it’s healthy) but prefer to keep my body fat closer to 18%. I’ve only been able to work out 5-6 times total since he’s been born (I was outta commission for 6 weeks), so I’m looking forward to getting back into a routine.

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Health: Everything was GREAT at his appointment. He is super healthy- thank you, Lord! He loves Dr. Carey and she and the nurse both commented on what a happy, content baby he is! He is just as happy as can be and smiling at them the whole time they poke, prod, weigh him, etc.IMG_3921 IMG_3919

(I know that it looks like he has a wet diaper in every picture I post, but I promise it is just a coincidence! Kid gets his diaper changes ALL THA TIME!)

After lots of prayer, we ended up getting 2 shots (a shot in each leg) and taking an oral vaccine. That was the first time we’ve ever really heard him “cry." I was surprised that I didn’t cry at all, but I was just so focused on him that I didn’t get upset. I started nursing him as soon as she was finished to soothe him and he was fine after that. The rest of the night he was very sleepy and I held him most of the evening/night. He was a little fussier than normal the next couple days too.

She did say he seemed to be advanced with the way he was holding his hands together. This is his “advanced move.” (What?!? I can be proud of that, right?)

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Saturday night/Sunday especially he started to fuss more than normal, so I knew something was up. I wondered if it was from his shots because he also had a slight fever (99.2), but I also noticed he was drooling a LOT (he doesn’t normally drool) and sucking on his fists. Signs of teething?? Yep, I’m pretty sure my little man is cutting teeth already. Man, that happened fast!! I read the average time babies start cutting teeth is 4-8 months, but some He is also fussier/crying at bedtime

Sleep: The first part of the week was awesome!! He’s been sleeping in his crib and transitioned really well, & I let him fuss for 5-6 minutes at the beginning of naps and he would go right to sleep. Not crying, just a little fussing. And THEN we got the shots & he started teething. Bye bye good naps! He started crying at nighttime too, which he hasn’t ever done before. We’ve been holding him LOTS!!! In fact, for the last two nights he wakes up any time I put him down & wants me to hold him all the time. The second I pick him up and put him close to me he starts snoozing. It’s tough because I don’t want to develop any bad habits, but also want to comfort my lil guy since he’s having a tough time (between shots and teething back-to-back).

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Nursing: Going good. He’s been wanting to do more nursing for comfort than he’s ever done in the past since he started the teething.

What Jase is up to: Goodness gracious, we have a little mama’s boy on our hands! I have left him for a short time (2 hours or so) twice this week, and both times he screamed for a little while when I left. He’s been crying/fussy, and seems the only way he is soothed is when he is close to me.

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He is still his normal, happy self most of the time though. And we started hearing his first little laughs!!!!! OH.MY.GOODNESS….sooooo cute!!!! He just LOVES Jonathan. I didn’t capture the laugh on video, but I did manage to get a few smiles…

He’s holding his head up like a CHAMP.

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His schedule is pretty consistent at 7, 10, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30, 8:30, and a dream feed at 10:30 (bedtime). After talking to Larissa and Melissa though, I think I’m ready to try a transition to the 3.5 hour schedule. We’ll see if it works- he sure likes to eat!

He liked flirting with Jennifer even though she didn’t want much to do with him. It’s crazy they aren’t far off in size, yet they are almost 7 months apart (I think?).

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We went to a mixer and a training this week, & this lil man LOVES Meleisa!! I also held him for a good bit at one of the trainings while he was taking his nap, and my biceps were SORE the next day! Hahah…

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Mom & Dad watched him for a couple of hours for me while I went to shower the BEAUTIFUL Miss Dana & Baby Vann (can’t WAIT to meet him), & Grandma, Grandpa, & Jade watched him for a little while today so I could go to the gym. Sure is a blessed little fella to have so many people who love him so much!

Still enjoying baths!

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Love this one of our little Advo baby FLEXING the guns!! Showoff.

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Other than that, Jase has just spent most of his time hanging out with mom. Almost wiggling out of his little bouncy seats…time to stat strapping him in!

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Oh, and a fun little blowout! I mean, how do you even go about that??

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PostPartum: Still feel good. Can’t complain! I really need to get more sleep…I know I need to go to bed earlier, but I’m having such a tough time squeezing everything in.

Baby Gear: Pampers Size 1 Swaddlers, Miracle blanket, blackout curtains, Aveeno bath products, onsies, activity mat, bouncy seat, Angel Care monitor, Medela storage bags & bottles, breast pads, Pandora (praise & worship), children’s books

Visitors: Kim, Grandma & Grandpa, Grammy, Hannah, Megan, Myrna & Myrna, Jade, The Lester girls

Photo: Two of my favorite Butler's!!! :D :D #babybutler #lovethem #gonnamissthem

Thoughts: I have never felt so many emotions at once. Sometimes when I look at him I want to smile, laugh, and burst into tears all at the same time. I can’t even describe how my heart feels about this little baby that God entrusted to us.

 

Speaking of being a mama, I spoke on an Advocare mom’s call the other night if you wanna check it out….

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