New Baby!

I'm going to sleep as a family of 3 and waking up to be a family of 4. It's 11:13 on November 21st 2016, and I am 39 weeks and 1 day pregnant with baby #2. I still can't believe we didn't find the gender of this baby, crazy!

I have so many emotions going on right now but mainly I'm just excited and a little nervous. I'm not sure what I'm nervous about but I guess just me and the baby's health and happiness. I trust God and I know everything will always be okay no matter what happens but I can't help my human feelings sometimes.

I'm excited for Robby to be a big brother, he's going to be so awesome and I'm so excited to just be home with my babies and to enjoy what lies ahead. 8 want to teach my kids to love the lord and I want them to know Jesus like I do.

I just can't wait to establish a routine and townjoy this life. I'm just so happy, God is so good!!! I'm dying to know the gender of this baby... I really can't believe tomorrow is the day. It just went so fast!!

Lord, keep us healthy! In your name! Amen! This little one is moving so much right now, he/she is going to love this family :)

Okay, I need to read the Bible and try to sleep. I have to be up at 4 and at Virtua at 5:30, c section is at 7:30. Here we go :)

Where does the time go?

Robby is almost 10 months old and I have completely forgotten to write on this blog!! The time just flies and my baby is going to be one in a couple of months!!! I still can't believe it, I blinked and time just flew. 

I don't even know where to start with the most recent things. Robby is amazing, best baby in the world! Always happy, loves everyone, loves to eat, loves to sleep, loves to play. I don't think he dislikes anything. He's an absolute joy to be around and I don't know how I became blessed with such a wonderful son! 

At his 9 month well visit he weighed 21 lbs and is 31 inches tall. He's in the 98th percentile for height! Big boy!! 

He had 8 teeth, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom. 

He just started crawling about 2 weeks ago and is always on the move. He loves to explore and climb up in the standing position on everything. He will be walking before he is one without a doubt. I'm saying 10-10 1/2 months. 

He isn't fully adjusted to adult food. He started eating puffs and certain fruits. He actually ate an entire raspberry but that's the extent of whole foods. Something about the texture he can't get. He gags everytime, poor baby. 

He learned how to give high fives at the beginning of this week and he gets so excited when he gives them. 

He climbed halfway up the stairs the other day and almost gave me a heart attack. It was insane! He's just growing up so fast!!

He is obsessed with the water and loves the beach so far. He's only been a couple of times but he absolutely loves it!

He is a water bug for sure!

He still loves Mickey Mouse clubhouse and most recently the lion guard. He chews on everything and still drools like crazy. He says dada and Mum, and is always talking, screaming (in a fun way not upset or angry way-they are actually more like squeals lol), laughing, and babbling. 

He is my favorite person in the world. I just love him so much, more than words will ever be able to express.

Here are some recent pictures. 9 months old. 

Robby is 4 months old!!!

Time is just flying on by! So hard to actually get a chance to lay down and blog about how amazing life is these days because every second is spent just loving Robby and my family (and of course running the Etsy business and my household). 

It's been a busy couple of months. Robby is growing so fast and is seriously the most amazing baby in the world! Well, since 2 months has past, so much has happened....Where to even begin...

He had his first thanksgiving and Christmas and both were so much fun! Robby loves Santa and we got such cute Santa pictures of him and us. He is just such a joy to be around. He smiles and laugh constantly and only cries when he's tired and hungry. 

Around 2 months, he was having his tummy issues with gas and such but now he is a champ with pooping and gas. He started to get better around 3 months and it was such a relief to not see him struggle to poop or burp anymore. He burps after every bottle and poops with ease. He is doing so great in that department :) 

He is one hungry little boy! Around 3 months, he was eating 5oz every 2-3 hours. Sometimes we stretched it to every 4 hours but that wasn't happening! He loves to eat!!!! Now, at 4 months, he is eating 5.5oz bottles and he just started food!!! So far, he hates cereal and loves pees and green beans! He was so funny at first and couldn't figure out how to eat food but I held the spoon in his mouth and he would suck on it and then swollow the food. He's just so use to sucking his bottle that the transition was hard for him. It's been 2 days on food and he is loving it! Tomorrow, we are going to try some bananas. I'm sure he will love them! I know it's my favorite baby food :) 

Robby has been sleeping through the night since 2.5 months. He's such a good sleeper and will sleep 10-12 hours! He loves his sleep just like his momma and dada!

Robby LOVES Mickey Mouse clubhouse and could seriously watch it four hours on end. I try to limit tv Time because he gets over stimulated, but he just loves Mickey. The second it ends, he cries until I put it back on or distract him with his toys. 

He loves his walker and bouncers! And still loves his swing. He loves to sit in his high hair with us at dinner time and just watch us eat or just watch me in the kitchen. He's so observant and gets interested in everything. I always walk him around the house and show him everything, he loves it and just takes it all in. 

Recently, he discovered his feet and loves grabbing them and trying to put them in his mouth. He can entertain himself for hours with his feet. 

Every day is such a great routine with him. He wakes up anywhere from 6:30 to 8am, has a bottle then hangs out for a little in his swing or chair and then sleeps for another hour. Then plays or watches Mickey while I get some Etsy done. Then, he has his solid food, plays and then wants a bottle about an hour later. We then Lay on the couch together as he plays with his feet and I sing his ABC's and just talk to him. Then takes a small nap, has another bottle. Hangs out some more in his bouncer or walker. Then has some solid food for dinner, then another bottle a short while after. Daddy gets home from work and sees and plays with him, then bottle, some Mickey... And then cuddle time, then bed at 9:30-10. 

Robby loves looking at himself in the mirror! He gets so excited and jumps for joy when he sees himself! It's adorable! 

I stopped pumping last week and we started formula 2 weeks ago. We bought baby's only organic dairy and I love it and so does Robby. We started with 3oz breastmilk and 2oz formula for the first week and then switched to 2oz breastmilk and 3oz formula. So far so good. This week, I am going to try all formula because I am running out of breastmilk. 

Stopping pumping wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The first 48 hours was really tough.. I stopped cold turkey and put cabbage leaves on my boobs, ate peppermint, and drank no more milk tea. They were engorged and hurt like crazy but that only lasted for 2 days. I had to relieve the pressure in the shower a little but other than that, it just started to get absorbed into my body and my boobs are finally normal a week later.

Trying to think what else is new... Robby still loves bathes, loves chewing on his hands and all of his toys. He started teething at about 2.5 months and some days are better than others. We use teething tablets that dissolve under his tongue which seem to really work. We had to use Tylenol a few times but he's been okay. 

At his 4 month well, he got 2 shots and was really good with them. He cried for about 10 seconds and we gave him a bottle right after and he was fine. Such a strong little guy. He weighs 15.3lbs and is 26 inches. Getting so big!!!

Recently, we got the owlet baby monitor which is the sock that goes on his foot that measure his heart rate and oxygen levels! We love it and it the most amazing device ever! It goes off if his heart rate dips or oxygen levels get too low. Such a peace of mind tool that helps me stop worrying about SIDS and anything else that can go wrong when he sleeps.

Pictures of Robby from the last two months: 

First Thanksgiving 

First Christmas

First New Years

When Melannie was born 1/4/16

Your new bottle holder 1/15/16

First snow

First time trying food 4 months and 2 days old. You didn't like cereal at all at first!!

But you loved green beans!

You love your bouncer!!

So much that you fall asleep in it lol.

Love peas too!

And sweet potatoes 

And Cereal!!!!

I just love you so much! I pray that Jesus always takes care of you and watches over you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. 

Vaccines Today :(

Robby got his first set of vaccines today and it was not an easy thing to go through as a mom. It was so sad! I think I was more scared and upset than Robby. 

He got 4 different vaccines today, one by mouth and the other 3 by shots. He took the one by mouth so well. The nurse said she didn't even need a napkin for his little mouth because he was drinking it like a champ. They gave him the other 3 vaccines in his thighs and he cried like crazy. I was holding him and my cousin Josh came because Rob had work. The nurse did them really quickly and it was over in a second, but it felt like forever. 

As soon as he was done, I tried to calm him down and then gave him a bottle. He was okay and slept the car ride home.

On another note, The rest of his 2 month well appointment went great. He is doing so good and growing so much! His reflexes are great and he has no problems :) He's doing everything a 2 1/2 month old should be doing :) His next appointment is at 4 months. 

We also noticed a little freckle on his back today! His first freckle! Looks like a little mole, similar to mine. 

Anyway.... When we got home, I gave him Tylenol because the doctor said he could get a fever. He slept for a little while and then was just a little fussy here and there. He's been acting a little different too, smiling and cooing like crazy... It's a little nerve wracking but I'm sure he's okay. The scare with vaccines these days gets us thinking the worst. 

Anyway, it's 11pm and he's wide awake which is weird because the past 2 weeks he has been going to sleep at 9-10. A lot of excitement today (not necessarily good excitement, but still excitement).  

He's still a little congested so we will see how his night goes. 

2 Months Old

Robby is 2 months old already!!!! 

Well, posting every week has been something that has not occurred (being a new mom is a challenge in itself, add on the Etsy business, friends and family stopping over, sleeping when I get a chance, and trying to maintain a household), but I'll just update our lives whenever I get the chance, probably every month. 

Right now, Robby finally went to sleep after fussing all day long with an upset tummy (12:15am). I'm so tired that I'm past the point of actually sleeping... So, what better thing to do than blog about how things are going. 

Well, things have been great! I'm finally starting to get the hang of things. Pumping is just part of my life, and I pump every 3-4 hours. I stopped breastfeeding when Robby was only a week old. I was having so many issues with it. I was upset at first because every one talks about breastfeeding being such an amazing thing and so good for the baby bonding aspect of it, but he just didn't like it. He was getting too much milk, chocking, crying, and it just wasn't working out for us. Rob and I probably could of tried a little harder to make it work, but I started pumping and really loved the idea of knowing how much the baby was getting at every feeding and the fact that Rob could feed him whenever he wanted. So, I am officially a pumping exclusive mom, and I am totally okay with it because Robby is still getting the good stuff, just not directly from my boob. 

Anyway, I got cleared 2 weeks ago from the doctor and can start working out again (although, I have not actually done that yet). I'm still in a little bit of pain but nothing major, it just feels like I did 100 sit ups and I'm sore from it. I'm hoping I am fully recovered soon and have no pain. The plan is to start working out next week, after Thanksgiving.  

Updates about Robby 

Robby is such a great baby! He sleeps on and off throughout the day and doesn't really cry unless his stomach hurts (which is almost every day) from gas and trying to poop. I'm hoping this doesn't last much longer. They say up until 4 months, a baby's intestinal track is trying to figure out how to work, so they can have trouble going poop and gas can get stuck in there. He doesn't really burp so I think that might have something to do with it. We try every feeding to burp him but nothing comes up. Usually, about a half hour after he eats, we will pat his back again and he'll burp, but by that time, gas bubbles probably get into his belly and intestinal track. It's a little frustrating but hopefully it won't last much longer. 

Robby eats so much and grows so fast! At his one month well appointment, he weighed 11 pounds and grew and inch, measuring 21.5 inches. His two month well is coming up, I'll add the updates on here when he goes... Got his 2 month stats. Weighs 13.1lbs and is in the 88th percentile. 

He eats 4.5oz every 3-4 hours. He was at 3oz for a while (every 2 to 3 hours). We then gradually started increasing the amount because he would get so hungry so fast and never seem satisfied. He's doing great and loves to eat! 

He still has a clogged tear duct. He's had this for about a month and a half now. His tears don't drain into his eye so he always has crusties around his eye. I'm always cleaning his eyes and massaging his tear duct. It's his right eye. His eyes are still blue but sometimes I see hints of brown. I think they will be all brown soon enough, which l'm happy with because maybe he will look more like me :) 

He gets baths about 3 times a week and loves them! The warm water probably feels like his old home (inside my belly). The only part he hates is getting out of the tub because it's so cold! I wrap him up right away and try to bundle him against my body for warmth. 

He had baby acne for about a month. It started a month ago and is finally starting to clear up. Today, his face was so smooth! 

He was sleeping in his Rock and Play every night up until about a week ago when we decided to put him in his crib. He sleeps on his belly now, which is wonderful because he will sleep about 5-6 hours through the night now. He sleeps so good on his belly because he can't startle himself from that startle reflex that Babies have. It's a little scary to have him on his belly because of all the SIDS stuff, but he loves it and sleeps so good that way. I just keep and eye on him and check the monitor throughout the night. Also, his head is so strong so I have no doubts that he will be able to turn and lift his head and not suffocate or anything like that. 

Robby rarely ever spits up. In fact, I think he has spit up a total of 5 times. He threw up twice (once all over the place in his swing and another time a little bit on the couch--must of been something I ate that got in the milk and made him sick.)  Rob and I depend on the famous gas drops. These help him so much when he has gas which is pretty much every day. 

He loves riding in the car and never cries in there. He loves stroller rides but now it's getting too cold to go outside. He loves being held and will fall asleep on his dad almost every night. 

He smiles constantly! And I take a million pictures and videos! He loves to look at the wall and ceiling. Sometimes, he follows the wall as if his Angel is moving around watching him. He even laughs and smiles out of nowhere when he's looking up there. I think it's definitely his angel looking out for him and protecting him. I love the thought of that :) 

We just started to try and get Robby into a nighttime routine so his daddy and I can get to bed earlier and make it work when we both start working again. 

Instead of letting him fall asleep downstairs or in our arms and then transferring him to his crib, we want him to be awake when he goes into his crib and then let him fall asleep on his own. This way, he can associate the crib with bedtime. We also want to give him a bottle, then a bath right before bedtime. They say certain cues will signal that it's bedtime, which is a bottle and a bath. We will see! Tonight was the first night we tried it and he went to sleep in his crib after laying there for about 20 minutes. So far so good! 

All in all, things have been great! There are good days and bad days but I love every second of it and wouldn't trade it for anything. He is such a joy in my life and I can't get over the love I have for him! He does new things every day, makes new noises every day, and just makes me fall in love with him more and more each day! I'm so happy I am a mommy! 

Here's some recent pictures of Robby :)