The Best Part of the Day!

When I was pregnant, one of the things that I said I would never do was co- sleep. "Oh no!!! It's too dangerous, " I'd say. Well, Elijah's here and for the past couple weeks or so, he's been co- sleeping!! Since Elijah isn't quite sleeping through the night yet, I sometimes bring him to bed with me in the exta room after his last early a.m feeding so I can get a little extra rest for a couple more hours. He will usually sleep til 6 at least, then he has a hour or so after he nurses that he doesn't want to go back to sleep and wants to play instead. This is absolutely one of the best parts of the day. We'll lie there and make faces, play tickle games, and mocking each others sounds until he gets tired and ready to nap again. His smiles just take my breath away!! There is nothing better than waking up with him lying there sleeping like an Angel. There are so many mornings that I don't even go to sleep right away; I just lay there and watch him. When Todd doesn't have to work or didn't work late, I take Little Elijah in our room so that he can enjoy it as well. He loves his Daddy so much! Those moments are priceless!

I decided to take some pics today and just wanted to share.



Snuggle time with Daddy :)



Smootches!!



Sweet Dreams!

"I'm up!!! Time to play!!!!"

The happy family!!!

Elijah's 2 Months Old!

It seems like just yesterday we were all camping out at the hospital waiting for Elijah's arrival and now he's having his 2 mo birthday already. Time is going by so fast. What happened tomy little baby?

To celebrate, we had his 2 mo pics taken at JC Penny. Although I LOVE having them done, it seems like each time, I freak out over the props they use. How often do they disinfect them or wash them? Can you imagine all the germs on them!!! UGH!!!!!!! I guess he can't live his life in a bubble (but I probably would if I could, lol!) so I'll just have to deal with it. JC Penny got some really cute shots of him in a basket, but he didn't want to laugh or smile very much for us; he was a little grouchy. We really wanted some nice shots in just his diaper, but they didn't come out as well as we would have liked. He wasn't to thrilled about getting them taken this time, but who can blame him? Poor guy!! He pretty much always has a camera in his face! We are constantly getting coupons for free or low cost packages so we figure why not use them!

For some reason JC Penny doesn't post their pics, but here's a few at home on his special day.

Gotta love that smile!

YAH!!! I'm 2 months old today!!

"I just love my Daddy!!"

"I'm SOOO done taking pictures!"

Elijah hasn't been weighed officially yet, but when I hopped on the scale here at home, it puts him at about 14 lbs! He's been out of most of his newborn clothes (some run REALLY big) for a few weeks now and is up a size in diapers. He's even outgrown a lot of his socks! His hair, on the other hand, is still...... pretty thin on top! It seems to grow so well on the sides and the back, but at this point he's still suffering from male pattern baldness :( He's been tracking things a lot better and is learning to enjoy things a little more.

His latest facination is his hands and others hair. He is a major slobberhead these days too. And the hand stuffed in his mouth doesn't help things, but it's so cute! I'm betting that by the end of the week, he'll manage to finally fit the WHOLE thing in there, Lord knows , he's practiced enough!

Hmmmm.. If I ever get this one in my mouth, maybe in can get the other in my ear!!"

Get your dukes up! I'm ready to spar with the heavyweights!!!!

Aiiii yaaaaaaaa! Working on my karate moves so I can spar with mommy!

Birthday visits from Grandpa and Grandma

He still hasn't slept through the night yet, but I'm happy with what I get. Earlier on, he would have 4 hour strectches at night BUT it would take an hour or even two hours just to get him back to sleep. Now, putting him back to bed is a breeze. He pretty much nurses, falls asleep and STAYS asleep. The night before his birthday he actually had a great night. He had a 3 1/2 stretch, followed by a 4 hour one. Then when he woke up, he spent 15 minutes entertaining himself by talking to his mobile and watching his projector while Mommy got ready for the day. He was doing so well, so I decided to push it and try for 15 more. Well, he whined a little, but was perfectly fine and went for about 1o more. He did great!! Hopefully, this is a glimpse of what's to come.

Todd's Special Day

This year, Father's day is extra special with the addition of little Elijah. Unfortunately, Todd had to work third shift the day prior so our day started pretty late in the day. Little Elijah made him a special T-shirt (with a little help from me :) ). We had so much fun doing it and he didn't mind the cold paint at all. It was a little challenging holding him with paint on without getting it everywhere and getting the perfect print without smearing (and getting a pic), but it came out very nicely. Although it was supposed to be handprints, I felt a lot safer doing the feet since his hands go straight to his mouth nowadays and they are usually in fists. Daddy also got a cool photo crystal ( wish I can get a pic of it, but I don't think it would come out well) and we prepared his favorite breakfast for him, waffles, after sleeping in pretty late. Happy Father's Day, Daddy! And to all the other father's (and father to be's) out there!!




Elijah's gift to Daddy.



A perfect father's day smile


Back from a Father's day walk.

Thank you Daddy for being the wonderful person you are and working so hard for us. We love you bunches!!!!!!

For those Interested in Natural Childbirth or the Use of a Doula

When I was pregnant and people asked about or made insinuations about D day, many would look at me like I was crazy when I told them I was wanting an intervention free delivery, with no epidural or pain medication. I clearly remember telling one person in particular and they laughed at the thought and pretty much pleaded that I get one mainly because "it's your first and you don't know what to expect." So many people were doubtful, negative, or even flat out rude about the notion of going about something so natural.... naturally. I wasn't going as far as doing a home birth (although the privacy and peace of it would be nice), I just wanted to at least TRY to deal with the pain in my own way. Fortunately, we were soon approached by a member of our church who was a childbirth educator and wanted to met with us a few times. The intent was to basically cover what's covered in childbirth classes, but in our home. I told her of my "birth plan" while being ready for her to either try to talk me out of it or subtly mock the idea. It was then, through small talk, that I realized that I wasn't quite so alone in what I wanted. She told me that many of the women at our church had natural births and a couple even had home births and that I should talk to them as well. Aside from close family members, it was sooo nice to know that I had more support in my decision.



Being set on the idea of having that childbirth experience, I began doing A LOT of research on natural ways to deal with pain. I looked into hypnobirthing, position management, pressure point work, etc. and in the end I decided that the best bet was to find and work with a doula. Todd was a little skeptical about hiring her at first, but mainly because he 1) was concerned I wouldn't have all the care I needed and 2) although he never said it, I feel that he felt his position as a supporter would be taken away (I have to add that in hindsight, a doula actually allowed him to relax more and focus on helping me). We had several talks about it and he eventually decided that since I was set on having a natural birth, a doula would be best for us. It is a decision that I never regret. Although my birth wasn't completely intervention free, I am SO happy with how it came about.

Our doula recently sent this clip to me from a friend of her's for a film contest. If anyone is interested in possibly using one or just out of curiosity, please take a look at this. Also, if you are pregnant or planning to be and would like to have a doula throughtout your pregnancy, let me know and I can get you the contact info of ours. She did a great job and I HIGHLY recommend her. I'm already looking forward to having her assist with our next!

Our Special Day

Yesterday was Todd and I's 3rd year anniversary. I can't believe its been that long already.
Our relationship has truly went through a lot of changes over the 3 years and we have learned so much about ourselves individually and each other. God has continued to see us through life together and I feel truly blessed for all that I have been given. We have shared so many things over the years and have shared so many joyful times. I can't wait to see what else the future holds for our new family of 3!

This anniversary was extra special with the addition of little Elijah in our lives. Planning a celebration took a little more thought than usual, but it all turned out to be the best anniversary ever. We definitely wanted to include Elijah so decided to go to a new family friendly BBQ restauraunt called Famous Dave's for an early dinner then go to the mall to stroll and hang out as a family. He stayed awake for most of dinner and did some window shopping of his own at the mall. We wanted to get him a ride on the carasel, but too many kids were already on it so he got a ride on a horsey instead. Too bad he slept through it and couldn't enjoy it. Oh, well. Plenty of time for that to come!

Elijah looking at that handsome man in the mirror :)

His first ride (with Daddy's help of course) on a pony in the mall.

At dinner with Mommy

Sitting with Daddy for Dinner

Wanna fry?? (Don't worry. He wasn't the slightest bit interested.)

Catching Up

It's been a while since I've posted and I have lots of pics to add! Things are going really well for us right now. When he was weighed last week, he was 9 lbs. 11 oz. so I am sure he is going be near 10 1/2 lbs when we go back to the Dr. He's already grown out of some of his clothes, have moved up a size in diapers and now has some of the cutest, pinchable, cheeks.

He is "talking" up a storm and has the responsive smiling down pat. He swings in his swing and bounces in his bouncy seat, but he has a VERY short attention span and gets bored and wants to be picked up after 5-10 minutes. Needless to say, I can't get much done throughout the day UNLESS he's being carried around or attached to me in some way. Yes, I've already spoiled him but he's only little once and with me going back to work, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it and hold and love on him as much as possible. I will worry about the consequences and POSSIBLE issues later :)

SCROLL DOWN TO BOTTOM OF PAGE TO PAUSE OR STOP MUSIC TO HEAR CLIPS.

Pretty smiles for Mommy! (7 weeks old)

He also discovered his mobile a few weeks ago. I can now lay him in his crib and he will entertain himself and talk to the mobile for 15- 20 min or so. He LOVES his room and seems to find something new that catches his attention everyday. He enjoys riding or moving no matter how, whether it's in his carseat for car rides, riding in grocery carts, swinging on the awing outside or in the carrier I use to to take him out with walks for Buddy. We try to go out everyday esp. if he's having a fussy day and the change in scenery is definitely good for him. Wherever Mommy goes, Elijah goes!

Looking at his mobile on his swing.

You talkin' to me?

"Hurry up mommy! I'm ready to go outside with Buddy!"

Enjoying a beautiful day outside on the swing! (4 weeks old)

He has been taking the bottle now for about 2 weeks (we only do 1/day) and switches between nursing and the bottle with no problem. I was really worried that he wouldn't take it right away and I'd be stuck figuring thigs out when I went back to work, but he proved me wrong. I've been told that he most likely wouldn't take it from me, but he couldn't care less who was giving it to him!

Daddy getting him ready for his 1st bottle after his bath (5 1/2 weeks)

Mmmmm. Yummy!!

His cute little pooh church outfit. (6 1/2 weeks)

A few seconds of recorded tummy time.

I'll be back to add more later!!!