trevor :: 12th week

 this boy has some moves :) 4/29/14

rainy day = bad lighting once again,

someday trevor will know what warm weather is

trevor is still sleeping well in his crib at night and i'm handling it much better than expected. he has had some issues this week with hard crying, possibly tummy or teeth moving: waking him from deep sleep, not allowing him to go to sleep or back to sleep. not good. it usually happens for the first hour of his long nap. it's strange and hopefully will get better soon.

on friday, trevor, tator and i went up to the cities since al worked 12 hours. we, plus mom, went over to uncle jimmy's house to meet maren, brianna and her kids, and uncle jimmy there for maren to start teaching us about quilting. i'm pretty excited to learn how to quilt and was pumped to learn that it is a bit easier than i had thought (because there are patterns!). i'm hoping to pick a design and get started soon!

saturday morning i went to crossfit!!! it was so very good to be back there with my people! it was a tough workout but i loved it! we got to play with pushing a weighted sled, which is very much up my alley in things i enjoy. then we did norsemen's version of "trevor" in which i got to pick most of the movements (my knee has been bothering me). it included double unders, hang cleans, box jumps, deadlifts, pullups, push press, pushups, snatch, ghd's and then more double unders. i did not do it rx nor did i do all the rounds or all double unders, but it was so good to move and sweat again! i'll definitely be back (as long as we can afford it...)

then al came up and we went to meg's house for a baby shower for fluffy and amanda. it was fun and good to see my softball friends! sunday was the start of what is supposed to be a long, wet, cold, rainy, stormy 6 days so we stayed inside all day in our pajamas! :) i went through some of my boxes downstairs at mom's and found a bunch of stuffed animals for trevor to play with. mom also went through some of tyler's boxes and there's a bunch of toys that trevor can play with when he gets bigger! so fun to see some of that stuff again! in the afternoon, shawn and maria came over (the neighb's) and we played some games. always fun and entertaining to play with them. al took the volkswagen home sunday night so he could get some sleep before work on monday.

monday was supposed to be our first softball game (still weird that i'm only playing 1 day a week this year...) but with all the rain, they cancelled it early monday morning. so trevor, tator and i drove home in the rain and had a lazy day since trevor was really sleepy.

since i'm a planner and love looking at other people's schedules for their babies, i'm going to put the rough draft of trevor's current schedule here. for future reference for myself mostly, but also because it's pretty different from others. he eats about every 2.5-4 hours during the day and just once during the night.

-nurse around 5 am
-wake up somewhere between 8 & 9 (although i usually pick him up before he's actually awake but only after he's stirred a couple of times, so he may sleep longer)
-eat roughly 3 hours after early morning feed, usually around 9
-lots of smiles and playtime; play mat, bouncy seat, reading books, tummy time, helping me clean/pick up
-short nap (half an hour to an hour) about 10ish, when he's tired, in crib or in arms depending on situation
-eat about 11-noon
-some more play time, less active
-long nap, down between noon & 1(most important one, i try to make sure he's laid down for this one no matter what's going on or where we are). works best if it's later but depends on what time he got up. he usually will stir/cry every 10-15 minutes for the first hour, but then will sleep for a total of 2-4 hours. so if he goes down at 1, he'll cry/stir until 2 and then sleep until between 4 & 5. often times i have to wake him up from this nap to feed him, since i don't want him to go longer than 5 hours without eating during the day. not sure if i should be doing this or not, but it seems to work for us for now.
-eat 4-5 pm
-play time, not as active as the morning but will play for a long time
-short nap, usually in arms, whenever he's tired, shows fussiness
-eat by or before 7pm to time bed/bath time
-occasionally he'll need a tiny cat nap here too, but usually i can push this off and he'll just fall asleep faster after the next eating.
-if it's bath night (every other night these days) i try to do that about 830 but if he's really fussy/tired, i'll do it earlier
-eat around 830-9, then i lay him down in his crib. he will lay in there content for anywhere from 5 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how tired he is. once he fusses a little bit, i give him his pacifier and turn out the light, and he's usually out within 5 minutes. he then sleeps until the feeding around 5 am

so he eats 6 times a day (nursing), takes 3 naps sometimes 4 (the middle/afternoon one being the most important/longest), and sleeps about a total of 10 hours, maybe a little more. works for me!

i've read that once they're sleeping about 8 hours straight at night, you're supposed to push up bedtime by half an hour trying to get to a 7 pm bedtime around 4 months. i'm not sure if i'll try that yet or not since i'm not returning to work/don't need to get up by a certain time and as al sleeps in until 9 or 10 every morning so trevor could sleep til then too? maybe once we have a few more consistent days of this schedule, i'll start our bedtime routine a little earlier. or maybe i should do that now since i'm essentially waking him in the mornings. i just don't know :)

i'm thankful for the large amounts of sleep at night!!! but my body still wakes up about 2 am to make sure he's still alive and because i'm usually ready to nurse him by then (lots of leaking at night). and sometimes he'll stir/grunt about 3, but i give him his pacifier and he's back to sleep within minutes.

 still can't quite hold his head up all the way,
he's got a big noggin :)

 the bubbles that frequent his mouth,

possible teeth moving

 lots of fist chewing/sucking,

he can almost get the whole thing in :)

 talking to his rattle friend in the stroller at meg's house

trevor :: 11th week

4/22/14

wednesday was al's birthday but he had to work 12 hours (ended up being 14+ hours) and it was snowing (we got about 5-6 inches). so trevor, tator and i just hung out wednesday and thursday. then friday we headed up to the cities and had al's birthdya meal for lunch. then mom, tyler, al, trevor and i went up to aunt sheryl and uncle waynie's house for a family get together since a bunch of out-of-towners were here. the food was yummy and it was great to see the family and let them meet trevor. trevor thought it was a bit noisy but did well.

saturday was auntie diane's celebration of life at oak marsh (where al and i had our wedding reception). mom had some of the family over before hand for lunch and chatting. then we went to the party 4-8. it was incredibly hard through the speeches and pictures, but it was a good time gathering with family and friends, which is what auntie diane would have wanted. trevor again did great.

sunday was trevor's first easter. the easter bunny came to mom's house and got him some clothes, toys and books. we left mom's just after noon and got home to bloomer about 2 pm. trevor slept from 2 pm sunday until 8 am monday morning, other than to eat! crazy! it was an exhausting weekend for us all so hard to say if it was from busy-ness or a growth spurt. he also cried harder than usual the little bits that he was awake; we're thinking it was tummy issues. monday he slept lots again. i also moved the nursing chair into his room and prepped for him to sleep in there at night. i was very anxious about it but thought it was about time since it's warmer weather now (70 degrees on sunday & monday!). also, he stirs some when i get back into our bed or al turns over since our bed or frame squeaks. and without him in our room, we can sleep with the windows open! the first night went well; same as when he was in our room other than me getting used to his noises coming through the monitor. he just woke up once, at 4 am to eat and then at 740 to get up.

he wasn't happy about having to wear his sweatshirt with his swim trunks, but we had to try them on for the lake

 how he likes to hang out on the changing table :)

 loves looking at animals/mobiles/toys

 dressed up with uncle tyler at auntie diane's party

(tyler was in a wedding the same day)

 hanging with daddy

 my very own easter bunny

trevor :: 10th week

4/15/14

tuesday night we lost one of the very best people i know and gained the sweetest guardian angel, auntie diane. auntie diane was so kind, caring and loving. she also knew how to have a good time. she really listened when you talked to her and everyone who met her loved her. she will be very deeply missed and i will try my hardest to portray her kindness. she is a huge inspiration to me! i'm very happy that she got to see trevor.

thursday al had testing in hudson but was home with us during the evening. friday mom came down and we all went into eau claire. it was the big consignment sale in ec and we dropped off our clothes to platos (to sell) and goodwill (to donate) finally! so good to have that done and out of the house, and we made a pretty penny at platos. mom stayed all weekend and we got practically nothing done due to the gloomy weather but it was good to have her here, as always.

sunday night trevor was up at some point every hour midnight and after. he's spoiled me for a while sleeping 5-6 hours when i first put him down and then another 3-4 hours after the early morning feeding, so that night was a bit rough on me. the weather was back to cold monday and tuesday so we stayed inside and got some cleaning done.

he has been drooling and bubbling a little last week and more this week. hoping we aren't dealing with teething already (although dr said teeth won't come in for another 2 months at least, some babies can start teething this early).

friday was a gorgeous afternoon!

first stroller walk and first outdoor nap


 he loves looking at books,

especially his black & white books i got him from usbourne

 saturday's walk was much cooler

but we ventured off the road and found a cool tree path

this is how he is during and after every walk,

instantly out; he loves the fresh air & movement :)

 i made my big headed baby a top knot hat

so that it covers his ears :)

although on him it's more of a back knot than a top knot

 

trevor :: 9th week / 2 months

4/8/14

"daddy's little deputy"

thursday & friday we got another snow storm in the longest, snowiest, coldest winter ever. but friday was his 2 month birthday and 2 month checkup so we went into eau claire. the drive in was ok but the drive back, particularly in bloomer, was very snowy; hard to even get into our driveway.

2 months: trevor is now 11 lbs 7 oz and 24 inches long; that's a 2 pound gain and nearly 3 inches. dr sarumi said it's not very often babies grow more in length than in weight :) our long boy; no wonder he's almost too long for 3 month clothes. his head circumference has also grown an inch. dr sarumi said he's still perfect! also, she confirmed that the little spot on his back is a birth mark. she said we're lucky he's getting the 5-6 hour feeding stretch at night. trevor also got his first set of shots and was a champ and the tough guy we've known him to be. he cried for only a couple seconds but once i was able to pick him up, he stopped. and thank goodness, otherwise i would have likely cried as well.

4/4/14

he doesn't look so long in this pic with his scrunched up legs

but he was on the tired side and wasn't really into it

saturday we went up to the cities and grama got to babysit for the second time as al and i went to the annual softball beer bust for johnny's men's team. meg and the twins came to mom's just before we left for the beer bust to meet/see trevor. the beer bust was a good time with good friends as usual and the first time i had more than 1 beer. i didn't drink much and stopped drinking once the beer portion was done since i was missing my baby and wanted to be able to feed him once we got home. once we left the beer bust we went over to manda & johnny's house and played some cards against humanity, so much laughter! we were home by 10 but after leaving at 230 that was quite the long time away from my boy. momma missed him. oh how the thoughts change now that i'm a mom :)

sunday mom and i went baby shopping :) we went to savers, goodwill and once upon a child in woodbury. trevor got a couple new clothes, some sweet books and a rocking giraffe (much like the usual rocking horse). i've been itching to garage sale for months now so these stores helped feed that for now. with me not going back to work, hospital bills, and having spent so much on propane this winter, i'm trying to be very frugal and stick to our budget so that i don't stress out about money. (our one income household doesn't leave us much, if any, wiggle room in the money department)

then sunday afternoon, we all went over to shane and jodi's house so they could meet trevor and so the boys could watch wrestlemania... it was good to see them and we had good food! jodi and i went through a bunch of baby clothes. it was also good for their dogs to be around a baby for when baby L comes in july and also so we could see how tator would do with other dogs/people around the baby. they all did great. i didn't take a single picture all weekend :(

other randoms:

this week we started working on more of a sleeping schedule. i felt like i didn't know at all what he needed or wanted or when he'd sleep. so i read up on a few things and decided to start putting him down for a nap (we usually just hold him or leave him in the same, noisy room we're in to sleep) whenever he appeared tired. i also started writing down when he ate and slept in a notebook so i could start to see trends. it's working well so far. he takes 4 shorter naps during the day (although they're longer in his crib or playpen than they were in the living room) and hasn't had any issues sleeping at night (knock on wood). i still have to figure out how to get him to stick to a somewhat schedule and have good naps when we're not at home, but i'm sure that will come.

i also hit a point in the happiness project that i'm reading, that really struck home with me. and that is that time is fleeting and you have to soak in all the present moments, even the tiny ones that usually go unnoticed. that is throwing me for a bit of a loop as it makes me want to hold him every second and rock him to sleep every time and pick him up/soothe him every time he cries. but all i've read/researched kind of says the opposite. i want him to be on schedule and sleep well but i also know this time with him little will be gone before i know it. i'm trying to allow myself to do both, but i think i'm more focused on relishing in the time that i have with him as my little baby!

smiley boy!

he smiles at me just about every morning now :)

 wearing daddy's shirt.

the cutest alaskan king crab!

 i realized i don't have any pictures of his body out of clothes,

probly because it's been so cold.

 first time he's actually looked at the animals

trevor :: 8th week

a little comparison shot

lots of firsts this week:

smile: wednesday evening, while i was playing with trevor on the floor, he smiled in response to me. he had been looking at books then i pulled his head up straight and put my face in front of him and smiled. he smiled back! later in the week, he started smiling in the mornings too; more than usually which makes me hope those real smiles keep coming. that night i also tried putting him in a bumbo chair for the first time; he did pretty good with neck control but he got the hiccups right when i put him in there, so i took him out. he still gets the hiccups everyday.

blurry due to hiccups;

and he looks like a turtle :) 



poop: then thursday (al's first day off) i took tator outside to run and when i came back in, al & trevor were up in trevor's room on his changing table. al never takes him up there to change him, so i went up and trevor had his first blow out. right on daddy. :) it came out the diaper, all over his side/back, down his leg (inside his outfit). it was kinda funny but probly only because it wasn't on me. i thought he might be less gassy/fussy after that, but he wasn't; he was an unhappy boy until he crashed. speaking of that, i read that during weeks 6-8, infants typically go through a gassy/fussy phase where their tummys and insides are getting used to pushing out gas/poop when it needs to. so that made me feel much better about it.

sleep: trevor is getting better at self soothing at night and putting himself to sleep. at night, if it's bath night he gets a bath, then some play time including reading/singing, and then i feed him. i then typically put him in the playpen. before he'd usually be asleep when i did this but lately he's been awake. so he lays in there and looks around and does well until he's about to fall asleep. he then starts fussing a little bit, but i can now tell the difference between this tired fuss and an actual cry. so before i try the nuk, i let him fuss a bit and most nights this week, he's fussed himself right to sleep and stayed asleep! after this, he also goes 5 or 6 hours between feedings which mean we get a bunch of sleep (well, relative to what we were getting). it's glorious! i forgot what it felt like to wake up with sleep in my eyes :)

saturday morning trevor, tator and i headed up to mom's (our first time without al, which i was nervous about, but they both did really well and slept the whole time.) saturday afternoon was our shower thrown by the wednesday night ladies softball team at gaylene's house. it was a great shower and so nice to see my ladies!! then saturday evening, judie, angi and ruby came over to visit; they loved trevor and ruby is getting so big, she's walking already! trevor's routine was a bit off due to driving, meeting lots of people, and having to feed him before he wanted it a couple times (2 hours instead of 3-4 hours.) this meant that he didn't get a long nap like he usually does in the afternoons, so he took it from 6-8pm. not good for sleeping all night then; we were awake from 2 until 7ish. luckily mom got up at 7 and took him so that i could sleep. i need to be more aware that he needs to get in one good nap each day that is not after 6pm.

sunday we went to visit uncle jimmy, auntie diane and cousin kai with mom. when we got back the neighb's came over (steve & tina, and angie & anika) to meet trevor. then we went to target to pick up a few things. mom really makes us go, go, go. :) we also went for a walk sunday evening because it was so nice out; trevor really loves being outside! he got more sleep this day so he slept really good sunday night again.

monday morning early we headed back home to bloomer and daddy who was glad to see us! trevor had some hard cries monday during the day and i eventually figured out that it was because he was hungry (at least i think that's what is was) even though it had only been 2.5 hours. that night he only went 3 or 3.5 hours between feedings. possible growth spurt? can't wait to see his measurements on friday at his 2 month checkup. (holy crap, 2 months already!?!?)

i wanted to get a picture of his little blonde swirl

and mullet :) (hard to see but so cute!)

 getting so good at tummy time!

 wearing his first hoodie :)

 knocked out after our walk

 he's been into eating his fists,

even just after he's eaten

(not a sign of hunger)

 love when he sleeps on me!

also, crazy outta control mullet hair

and knuckle dimples!! :]