Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Three Months!

Caleb is 3 months old!


Weight: 15 lbs. (We didn’t go to the doctor this month, so I weighed him at home.  I’m sure this isn’t as exact. This weight was higher than I expected, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's really between 14 and 15 pounds?)

Length: 24.75" (Again, checked it at home, so not sure how accurate it is.  Another time I measured, it seemed like 25".  And looking at him, he seems longer... So who knows!)

Head Circumference: No idea :)

2 days old on the left and 3 months old on the right!

Diaper Size: 2 – We switched him back to Pampers brand this month.  We originally used Pampers, then we tried Parents Choice (Walmart brand).  He got a diaper rash from those.  We tried Luvs, but we had to return the package without even using any.  The scent on them was too strong for us!  So, we started using Wegmans brand.  Those seemed to work well, but he was constantly leaking out at the leg openings; I felt like I had to wash poopy onesies daily.  So, we decided to switch back to Pampers! :) So far, so good

Clothing Size: 3-6 months!  I’ve been putting him in his 3-6 month white undershirt onesies for a couple of weeks and gradually putting away his 0-3 month things.  I’ve been trying to get one last wear out of his Walmart PJs that are that size (they seem to run bigger), but I think they’re just about done.  I’m also trying to get one last wear out of his 3 month outfits (which seem a bit bigger than 0-3 month ones, too).  He’s just about done with all of those.  Growing boy!

Chunking up!

Nicknames: He still gets Curious Caleb and Wiggle Worm… I call him Mister a lot :) I don’t think there are many new ones right now :) Pete calls him random things like Dragon, Monster, etc., but nothing consistent

Health: His tear ducts and baby acne are all cleared up!  We still give him gripe water at night.  He’s actually getting it before nap time too (see below).

Sleep: I’ve been pushing (and struggling) to get Caleb to nap this month.  He would always nap well if we were holding him, but not if I put him down.  He’d wake up within a few minutes.  It was frustrating!

I tried to do it all like bed time, swaddled, etc.   I tried him in multiple places – Swing (in living room and in nursery), pack n play, rock n play (in our room and in nursery), bouncer seat, crib.  It just wasn’t working.  He would rarely stay asleep more than a few minutes, but even then, it would only be about 30 minutes. 

Finally (based on my mom’s suggestion), I gave him ½ a dose of gripe water before his nap.  He slept for an hour and 20 minutes in his rock n play!  He has napped well in there for a few days now.  We’ll see if it continues!

He has been sleeping through the night (6-8 hours) for a few weeks now!  We’ve had maybe 3 or 4 nights in the last 3 weeks where he hasn’t slept through.  That’s pretty good!

You can see his birthmark on the bottom of his foot!

Diet: We’ve had some times where he’s been fussy while nursing.  I have a couple ideas of what was going on.  I think it was a combination of teething pain and him wanting the milk to come out faster.  I sometimes had to feed him on each side twice during a feeding, instead of just once like normal.  He seems to be doing better though; I suspect my supply increased some to meet his needs.

Loves: He loves tickles!  It’s been fun to find his ticklish spots this month :)

He loves Daddy’s funny noises :)  Pete makes all sorts of sounds at Caleb and they usually make him smile and laugh!

He loves to lick things and to grab things (my hair, my lips, my shirt, etc!).  He hasn’t yet figured out that he can hold his own toys, but he’ll get there soon.

He loves to DROOL! Ok maybe he doesn’t love it, but he does it all the time.

He loves music!  I tried to play him some music to see if it’d help him go to sleep, but he lit right up and started smiling instead :)

Licking his sweatshirt :)

Dislikes: Being put down/being alone.  He’ll often cry on his activity mat until we pick him up.

Milestones: He has great head control!

He’s started babbling a lot, discovering new sounds (and sound levels). 

He started teething.  I don’t think anything has broken through (although one spot feels like it might).  Oddly enough, it seems to be his canine teeth.  So, we’ll see what happens!

He laughs a lot now!  He gave Pete his first laugh and would giggle a lot at us.  Just in the last couple weeks, he’s gotten very “generous” with his giggles – laughing at our friends, his cousin Jocelyn, and Grandpa & Grandma :)

I love this sweet boy <3

Baby Gear Love: We still love the Fisher Price Rock & Play, the Boppy, and the SwaddleMe!  In fact, we’re going to buy the next size up SwaddleMe wraps because he’s just about outgrown the smalls.

We also still like the Moby Wrap and the Infantino Music and Motion Activity Gym and Play Mat

He did finally start liking his bouncer and swing!  That was helpful :) They’re both from the Bright Starts Playful Pals line.  We got the travel swing, which is nice to be able to fold it up and put it against the wall.

Although we don’t swaddle him with the Aden & Anais swaddle blankets, I really like them!  They’re easy to lay on the ground for him to play on or to grab as a nursing cover.  I also suspect they’ll be an easy way to provide shade in his car seat or stroller when the weather is nicer.

Random Thoughts: Caleb has changed so much this month!  He has a little personality now.  I love to see the things that make him smile and laugh.  Sometimes I’ll put him down on his activity mat while I go to get lunch or something.  I’ll hear him in the other room practice different noises; it’s so funny!  I can’t believe he’s already 3 months old!  I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since we found out I was pregnant.  It feels like it was just last week… This year has flown!

He's so cute!

Mama Update: I’m right about where I was last month – 6 or 7 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. I definitely gained in December, but I’ve lost that now.  I’m planning to be more careful about sweets and desserts as I work towards getting back in shape.  I might stop posting about my weight until I’m back to my pre-pregnancy weight ;) Maybe that’ll be next month, or maybe not for a few!

I’m feeling so much better physically!  I’m looking forward to being able to put Caleb in PrimeTime at the Y so I can go for it more with working out.  I was thinking I would start him now that he’s 3 months, but I’m not so sure about that now.  The flu, as well as a nasty cold, has been going around.  I don’t know that it’s specifically going around at the Y, but I just want to keep him out for a bit longer because of that.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

A Reflection on 2014!

 Happy New Year!

~ From our family to yours :) 

2014 has been quite the roller coaster... We started and ended the year with tragic, painful losses. However, we also started and ended the year with amazing, beautiful new life!
In January, Peter's brother Jonathon passed away. We were shocked and we miss him so much!


Just 6 days later, we found out we were expecting our first baby!  We were so thrilled, but struggled with the fact that our baby would never know Uncle Jon (Appleton).

Over the next couple of months, we had the joy of sharing this news with our family and friends :)

In May, we went on a great vacation/"babymoon" to an inclusive resort in Mexico.  It did not go at all how we had planned due to plane delays, etc., but it was still a wonderful time together!

We came home and had an ultrasound done to find out that our baby was A BOY! We shared this exciting news with our families on Mothers' Day :)


In the beginning of June, we found out that my brother and sister-in-law were expecting their 4th baby!  We were so excited to find out that Baby Junior would have a cousin so close to his age :)
(This was obviously from when we were much further along!)

In the end of June, we purchased our first house!  We've been working ever since to make it into a wonderful home for our little family.

As my belly grew and due date drew near, we eagerly anticipated the birth of our son.  We had baby showers, went shopping at yard sales, chose a name, picked paint colors, and prayed A LOT!!

We celebrated my 25th birthday in September, while I was 37 weeks pregnant :)
I was unexpectedly induced just shy of 40 weeks.  It wasn't exactly how we had hoped it would go, but I was still able to have the natural labor we had aimed for, despite being induced.

Caleb Eugene was born on October 9 at 1:41 in the morning.  He has completely changed our lives and stolen our hearts <3

In November, we celebrated Pete's 27th birthday with my family on Thanksgiving, his first birthday as a dad :)
Photo courtesy of Nick Dantonio Photography

In December, my Grandma Lonneville sadly passed away.  My heart broke because she was never able to meet Pete or Caleb.  We rejoiced, however, that her suffering had ended and that she was reunited with her husband <3

Just 3 days later, we welcome our beautiful niece, Jillian Hope, into the world!  She is so teeny tiny and so precious... It'll be such a blast to watch her and Caleb grow up together, being merely 10 weeks apart!

It was a blast celebrating Christmas with each of our families!  Caleb is the first grandchild for Pete's family; he sure livens things up and makes life exciting :) Caleb has 4 older cousins and 1 younger cousin (Jillian) on the Lonneville side; that was a very active Christmas day! :)
Jillian was not born yet, 
so add another itty bitty to this picture to get an idea of our Christmas day!
Photo courtesy of Nick Dantonio Photography

Photo courtesy of Nick Dantonio Photography

Last year, we had no idea of the ups and downs we would face this year.  We entered 2014 with the hopes of having a baby this year.  We now enter 2015 with joy and expectation to see all the things Caleb will learn and do :)

We are looking forward to 2015, believing God for amazing things!