Saturday July 31

We had an interesting night! I took the sleep positioner out of Noah's crib yesterday. He did fine during his daytime naps...he didn't move around much at all. But last night he woke up around 2 am; he had rolled over on his tummy and gotten his arm through the slats in the crib which I'm guessing is what caused him to wake up. Then he woke up again around 4am when his head was against the front side of the crib and his foot sticking out of the back side of the crib. I read to take the bumper out when taking the sleep positioner out... I will definitely be putting both back in tonight!

Friday July 30

Two things Noah absolutely loves... his toes and his bath.

Noah and Daddy play piano together a lot... Noah loves it!

Today was the last day of camp which is so relieving!!!!! I am so tired and I only have 4 days off next week before starting work!!! I was excited about starting back at work, but now I am really upset because I don't want to have to send Noah to school. No one e-mailed me back or called me from Country Day or First Baptist... :( Help!!!!!

Thursday July 29

We went to orientation tonight for Noah's school... I was really disappointed. It was not ready; they basically only had the room painted and they purchased cribs. There was an alphabet floor mat and a butterfly floor mat and that was it. I expected to see swings, jumperoos, exersaucers, walkers, etc. They said they had some of those things ordered... I don't understand why they would not have ordered them soon enough to have there for orientation night! They said they are not getting a jumperoo which I am disappointed about since it is Noah's favorite. There are 9 babies enrolled in his class and 10 beds in the room with only 2 teachers. I made sure before I paid the application fee of $200 that they would have a 3:1 ratio... they said they were looking to hire another person, but it didn't sound promising (since they made the comment "we'd love to have a 3:1 ratio, but..."). One teacher was very nice and seemed excited, the other one seemed bland... she basically just stood there and answered questions; she did not have much of a personality and she definitely didn't seem enthusiastic at all. Anyway, I came home and cried because I am not comfortable sending Noah to school there. I e-mailed 2 places to see if they accept young infants and if they have any openings... I am very upset and don't know what to do... I was hoping this orientation would make me feel better about Noah going to school, but instead it made me feel much much worse and more apprehensive. I wish I could stay home with him or send him to Cub Corner!

Wednesday July 28

It's our anniversary today! Noah came to camp today and hung out. He was supposed to go swimming, but he was eating and hanging out inside instead (it was very hot today). I hope he will get another chance to go swimming before the end of the summer...I have been wanting to buy one of those little blow-up pools for the back yard.

Tuesday July 27

I have been looking at Noah a lot lately and realizing how tall he is. He was in his swing and his little foot was hanging over the edge. Just a few short months ago he was so small we had to wedge blankets around him to keep him from rolling all around in the swing.

Monday July 26

Noah's entourage (minus Sophie the giraffe)

Noah had a great day with Nonna... he was tired and very hungry this evening. He did great eating his rice cereal... I think he's finally got the hang of it!

Sunday July 25

Great day! Noah definitely does better when we stay home all day. He did well eating his rice cereal and hardly made any mess - for the first time. We had a lot of fun playing today... Noah is so wonderful!!!

Saturday July 24

I had to switch off with Jeff again because Noah was not going to sleep for me. He did the sweetest thing... he took his pacifier out and put it in Jeff's mouth... I'm glad I stayed in the room to see that! He didn't take long to go to sleep once Jeff took over (thank goodness).

Friday July 23

Noah was so tired that he had a hard time falling asleep. We had him in his jumperoo before bedtime thinking it would tire him out, but I think it tired him out while hyping him up... oops!

Thursday July 22

Wednesday July 21

Noah has been making the cutest little noises lately... especially today.

Tuesday July 20

Finally Noah swallowed almost the same amount of rice cereal he ended up wearing!!!

Monday July 19

Sunday July 18

Sundays seems to have become grocery shopping days. Noah used to sleep through them, but the past two weeks he has been awake looking around. He ate rice cereal for the third time today... he is taking it in (well, what doesn't end up on his bib), but he doesn't seem to love it. He was kind of fussy when I was trying to feed him... I had to get a bottle to give him some milk in between bites (gums).

Breastfeeding

Ok, this blog is my journal, so this is a little personal, but I don't know where else to write about it. Anyway, don't read this post unless you want to read about my breastfeeding experience!

So when Noah was 6 weeks old, a friend commented, "Isn't breastfeeding great" to which I quickly responded hell no! It was painful, uncomfortable, and frustrating (since I never felt like I was doing things properly). But then shortly after that, I feel like I got the hang of it. It became less painful and at the end of Noah's second month I began to really enjoy it. Things were going great through most of Noah's third month; I always had to supplement with formula, but we had the system down... Noah breastfed first, then he got a bottle (except for the middle of the night when it was breasts only). Then towards the end of the third month he began to get fussy sometimes and just want a bottle, well now it seems to be getting worse. He hardly ever empties my breastmilk (if he takes it at all). I hope this trend does not continue because I was really enjoying breastfeeding and when I go back to work he'll be getting a lot more bottles without breastfeeding first...I hope this doesn't make him too lazy to breastfeed!

Saturday July 17

Boy what a long day! We went to Milestone today to have pictures taken. Noah was not his usual smiley self...I think he was taking it all in... and it was very stimulating (especially all the noises and gadgets used to try to get his attention). Despite the lack of smiles from the NoMan, the photographer still managed to get some cute photos... we can't wait to go pick them up in about 2 weeks. After that, we came home for a short nap and then we headed off to a BBQ... Noah was so tired that we had to leave before the food was all ready to eat. Now he's whining himself to sleep... at least we hope he's going to go to sleep! It's not his fault though, we weren't home long enough today for him to get a good nap... Whew, the whining has stopped; I hope he has sweet dreams of milk, pacifiers, and toys!

Friday July 16

Thursday July 15

We tried rice cereal for the second time tonight... we all ate dinner together in the dining room. Noah enjoyed his food much more this time even though he had a hard time figuring out how to keep it in his mouth.

Wednesday July 14

Noah has been exploring our faces the past few weeks... especially Jeff's with the bead thing he has going. It's so sweet when he is touching gently and not hitting us in the face.
We took Noah out to our first family dinner with just the three of us tonight. We ate at Basil Leaf... we planned it so that he would fall asleep in the car and sleep during dinner... Despite the fact that he was awake the entire time, he was well behaved and allowed us to enjoy our dinner (as he explored the table and his surroundings).

Tuesday July 13

Ok, we did it... Noah had his first taste of rice cereal today and...

he did not seem to like it.

Monday July 12

So I've been wondering what's going on with Noah the past few days... my mom watched him today and thinks he's teething (which some other people have mentioned also). At least I can relax now that I know what's most likely causing his fussiness.

While we were waiting for the bathtub to fill up I was sitting on the floor and I stood Noah up next to the tub. I was supporting him as he reached for the blow-up tub and was banging on it,then I suddenly noticed Noah had straightened up and I was not supporting him at all. He was standing up all by himself supporting himself by leaning on the tub... and to make it even cuter, he was naked! I wish I had the camera to take a picture.

Sunday July 11

It's 9:30 am and Noah is still sleeping!!! Maybe he's been so fussy lately because he was extremely tired... he went to bed at 7pm last night!Ok, after sleeping 14.5 hours, the little guy has awaken... well, I went in and found him awake playing with his hands and feet.

I put Noah in the high chair to get him used to it since we plan on spoon feeding him soon... he seemed indifferent about it.Noah was trying out his new bib

Saturday July 10

I was trying to fill out some of the pages in Noah's baby book when I realized I already missed some milestones that went undocumented... I don't know the first time he held his head up or laughed. I didn't do well with my pregnancy journal either... I don't know the first time I heard his heartbeat or felt him kick... I just hate leaving spaces blank in the baby book. There are so many times a day that I think to myself... I need to write about this on the blog, but when I sit down to write, I forget everything!
Anyway, some things that crossed my mind today:
Noah's hair is starting to fill in... it looks blond in some light or from certain angles, but I guess it's more of a light light brown color. His eyes are still gray... they've lost almost any hint of blue they used to have.
He is really starting to get fussy! Sometimes I know he's tired or hungry, but other times I don't know what's going on with him... maybe he's getting tummy aches...? He has started to spit up lately.We were excited to eat dinner together again (since returning from Shreveport) with Noah in his read chair... we cannot thank Susie enough for the red chair! He's so much fun to eat dinner with... he plays with the toy on the red chair's tray and stares at our plates, then at us with a look of "can I try some?". I cleaned the high chair really well today to get ready for him to use... Jeff doesn't want to start him on the rice cereal yet... I think he's a little sad about it... maybe tomorrow.
Noah has been falling asleep earlier many days. Last night he was out by 6:30. Tonight his fell asleep around 7. Of course, he might just be very tired still from our trip (he doesn't sleep very well in the pack and play) or the shots he got yesterday (he still has little tiny bobos on his thighs :( makes me so sad).
He was petting Jasper today... he usually doesn't take much of an interest in him, but tonight he was looking at him and reaching out to pet him. Jasper sits by me as often as he can (poor guy is starved for attention).I was ready to jerk Noah away if necessary! I was a little nervous that Jasper might playfully swat at Noah and hurt him.

Friday July 9

Noah got 3 shots at the doctor's office today :( . It took him even longer than last time to get over it... he cried and cried, took a break, then cried and cried, then started the whole process over again.
The good news... He weighs 16 lbs 10 oz and is almost 26" tall (he was too tall to fit in the scale - the nurse had to try to get him to sit up on his own to get an accurate weight). One of the questions the nurse asked was if he was pulling himself up... I had not really payed attention to this, but since we left the doctor's office, I have noticed he not only pulls himself up when I am holding his hands, he also pulls his body upright on his own when I have him leaning back on my lap. The doctor said it's time to start rice cereal... Jeff and I are a little sad because that means he's turning into a big boy. We bought it, but decided to wait to give it to him... at least until tomorrow.He has been very interested in his feet and toes lately. He looks at them and pulls on them... I think he uses them for comfort :) . Currently he is fighting a nap in the swing... he is pulling on his toes, pulling his pacifier out (and trying to get it back in), and picking up his musical seahorse.

Thursday July 8

LONG drive home... took about 8 hours!!!

Wednesday July 7

Another great and busy day! We started off eating breakfast at an local diner in Shreveport. Noah gave us all a look of envy as we ate. As soon as I was finished I started playing with him. I was tickling him and he could not get enough... he was laughing his heart out. He is really starting to laugh and get excited when we try to tickle him!
After that we went to visit cousin Barbara with Memaw and Nanna.

From there we came back to the house where Noah refused to nap... at least he fell asleep as soon as we got into the car to go visit friends.

big chair

bath time... Noah loves to play with cups in the bath tub

Tuesday July 6

We had quite a day! Noah had his first Taco Mania experience... but he spent it sleeping :) . Then we went shopping to get him a walker... surprisingly, his legs are a little too short for it. When we got back to the house I put him on the bed for a sec so I could get a diaper... I turned around to find him happily consuming a roll of toilet paper! He smiled and laughed as I frantically pulled the pieces out of his mouth... he's such a silly boy!

Monday July 5

with Aunt Susie

Noah came to the pedicure party we had at Mee-Maw's today.

Sunday July 4

On our drive to Shreveport today we stopped off in Baton Rouge for a short while to meet baby Hanna Powers. She was so tiny and cute... I can't believe Noah was ever that small!

We arrived at Nanna and Pops' house just in time for Memaw's birthday dinner. We're so glad that we get to spend Memaw's birthday with her. Noah also got to meet his cousin Jennifer today... they were both very excited to finally meet each other.

Saturday July 3

Today was a calm day at home... Noah took very short naps which ended up being lucky for us since we went to Teresa'a house this evening. Valerie and Paul were in town visiting with baby Evan who is about a month older than Noah. Evan made Noah look so small! He was about the same height as Noah, but his head was much bigger and he was heaver... he was very handsome (like Noah). :) Anne Marie was there too... she 's also about a month older. She used to be bigger than Noah, but now he is bigger than her... she is a petite dainty girl. Anyway, we were lucky that Noah was so tired because we ended up getting home a little later than we would have liked and we were afraid he was going to have a hard time falling asleep... instead, he fell asleep right away!

Jeff was changing Noah Thursday night and trying to calm him down (Noah was fussy and upset because he was so tired). Jeff was talking to him to calm him and Noah stopped and said OK... clear as day. I missed it :( . I also missed the fun they were having today... when Jeff tried to get him to say ok again, he was cracking up (video on Noah's you tube site).

Friday July 2

Great day! We went to Covington to Auntie Glo and Uncle Vern's house. Nananne and Uncle Al came along to help us out... I am still nervous of Nah riding alone in the back seat. Noah slept the entire ride there and continues to sleep until almost 1pm (we left around 9am). When he woke up he had a meal and then went swimming. He seemed to enjoy it much more this time. He was splashing a little with his hands in the water and he seemed very relaxed. We went to Nonna's when we got back in town and hung out for a while.

Thursday July 1

Naked is his best look, but the robe is a close second... thanks Tommy and Marie!

Today is Noah's 4 month birthday... he's spending it screaming himself to sleep. His new thing this week is to fall dead asleep in my arms in the rocker, then wake up the instant I put him in the crib... advice someone please!!! He had been doing this for the past several nights and we don't know what to do. Jeff just wants to let him cry himself to sleep, but it's really hard... is it ok to let him do this? He seems to just get more and more worked up instead of just falling asleep. I hope this new habit doesn't last!