New Discoveries

So, my son has discovered his penis and it really took me by surprise at first.  For every diaper change and every bath, he immediately reaches for it!  I knew it started, early but I had no idea it happened at 9 months of age!

I have also discovered his first tooth and made the mistake of letting him bite my finger.  Nope, never again.  We bumped him up to 3rd level foods and his 9 mo check-up went great.  He passed the developmental test, which the doc said was pretty hard to do at this age.  He has evened back out and is rocking 50% in both height and weight.  He weighs almost 20 pounds.

Trip is growing up so fast and I cannot believe he started crawling a couple of weeks ago.  At first he would only scoot backwards, but he got the hang of it in no time.  He loves wires, which makes me a nervous wreck.  He gets bored really easily, but I like to tell myself that means he's going to be super smart :)

He recently started pulling himself up on our furniture, toy bin, and bath tub and he gets so proud of himself when he does it on his own.  I could just eat him up!

At the moment, he isn't in daycare (his new one starts Aug 20th), so my sweet cousin Michelle is watching him a few hours during the day so I can get some work done (which I'm supposed to be doing now :))

I went on my first-ever weekend away and we both did great.  My patience has getting ever-so-thin these days, so I definitely needed to see my friends and get away.  Of course I missed him like crazy and I really missed him in the mornings.  I stayed up until 3:00 Friday night, but my internal clock had me wide awake at 8:00 the next day.  I just can't hang like I used to.  There's so much more, but I gotta run!  Here are some pics!

 I made the mistake of taking his 9 mo pic in the afternoon. Not a happy camper...

We're going to Dallas for the AL/Michigan game, so I'm getting him prepped :)

How can you not want to squeeze him?

I thought he would be way more into these bubbles.  

Beach Trip

My baby is growing up so fast!  Trip will be 9 months next week and I just can't believe it.  I swear, for the first few months he was just a beautiful baby that hung out in his bouncer all day, and then bam...he's a babbling, moving, real person!  We just got back from the beach and had a great time.  I have come to realize that I'm not the most relaxed parent on the planet, even though I prided myself on being that way.  I am probably horrible for saying this, but sometimes I wondered if me and Trip had developed a strong bond yet.  He laughs and snuggles with me, but I never really got the sense that he "needed" me until recently.  Since he goes to daycare, he never  got separation anxiety.  Trust me, not that I wanted him to, but it's nice to see him reach out and want to be held by me.  I had a hard time letting others hold him when he started getting fussy.  He reaches out for me to grab him and it just melts my heart!!  It makes for one exhausting vacation, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

He loved the sand, but kept putting it in his mouth and made an awful face.  He slept a couple of hours on the beach underneath the canopy for two of the days, so that was nice to get some good laying out time.  I haven't seen the sun all summer so I definitely needed the color.

We went out to Peg Leg Pete's one day and he did great.  Three of the waitresses kept looking at him and telling me how cute he was.  Then, another waitress walked by and told me I had a Gerber baby.  I'm not going to lie, that makes my day.  Another woman in the grocery store told me I had the next Gerber baby on my hands.  I of course walk around thinking he is the most beautiful baby on the planet :)

Trip is doing this thing where he randomly starts squealing, which isn't a big deal, but then he added on this loooooooooong "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" as well.  It's funny when we are home, but when we are out in public, it can get a little uncomfortable when he disturbs people's lunch.  Hahahhaa.

He is sitting up great, and I keep trying to work with him on the crawling, but he isn't quite there yet.  We have a doc appointment next week, so I'm interested to see where he lands in the weight/height categories.  He seems really long to me.  With parents who average around 5' 5", we are praying he can beat the odds.

 Lunch outing in his big boy high chair

Playing with baby Lily early in the morning

 This pool was the best purchase for the beach.  He loved it!

 Waiting on everyone to get ready to head to the beach

 One of his long beach naps.  So sweet!

The car ride home.  He did amazing!

This one is just for fun.  This is how I found him when he first woke up. 

Look at those rosy cheeks!

I'm trying to prepare myself to leave him when we go to Chicago next month.  I'm turning into quite the possessed mother.  Until next time!

6 Month Pics

We got the 6 month pics back and they turned out great!  Even though Trip didn't smile one time when I was holding him, I'm really pleased with them.  Here's a quick peak of some of the images...

Growing Up

It's been forever since I last posted, but so much has been going on it's hard to keep up with.  Trip is growing more and more every day and I cannot believe he is almost 7 months!   He started rolling over at about 5.5 months which was a relief because the doctor told me he needed to roll over by 6 months.  I definitely do not want to wish his life away, but I do think his life would be a whole lot more entertaining if he could sit up on his own.  He does this backwards push thing that's almost like a crab crawl.  If I leave the room for a second, he will end up all the way under the coffee table.

Easter was great.  We went to stay with my mom and had a relaxing weekend.  Trip was absolutely adorable in his Easter outfit and ended up getting three Easter baskets filled with goodies.  The little guy is slightly spoiled to say the least.

The women at his day care love on him all the time and I'm going to be upset when we have to take him to his new day care in August.  The good news is that I think we can extend past the 24 week maximum (technically its supposed to end June 22nd), but he will just move to the room across the hall for that two month time frame.
He is by far the biggest one in the classroom since most parents only use this day care for a couple of months :)

He does have a girlfriend named McKinnley, and I think she is way more into him than he is with her.  Hahaha. Every day she grabs his hand to hold on during their outside stroll.  It's the cutest thing and Miss Tara sent me home with a picture to show proof.  He's a little pimp and I love it!

We had his 6 month pictures taken this past Saturday and he didn't smile one time.  Michael says he has a lot of me in him and he wasn't going to placate to her because she was late.  That does sound about right.

We are headed up to the river for Memorial Day weekend and I'm so excited to take him up there, because we will be spending the better part of his summers up there I'm sure.  We are taking him down to the beach for the 4th of July, but by August we will be leaving him overnight for our trip to Chicago and then for our trip to Dallas for the Alabama/Michigan game. I have to really psych myself up to leave him, but I think it will be really good for Michael and I to get away together and enjoy some adult time.

We started feeding Trip solid food about 2.5 months ago and he hasn't looked back.  He doesn't particularly like the meat ones, which I don't blame him, but he will eat them.  I was giving him solids for lunch and dinner, and then about a month ago started doing rice cereal and fruit mixed together for breakfast.  Now he is eating two 8 oz bottles between breakfast/lunch and then one mid afternoon, and we are still doing the dream feed with formula and rice cereal.  I think he is close to dropping the dream feed soon because he has only been drinking around 4 to 6 oz (down from 8).

He isn't necessarily big by any means, but he's a very sturdy boy and he is really long (75th percentile for height).  He is going through clothes like crazy and I just can't wrap my head around how fast time is going!! It seems like things dragged in the beginning because he just kind of sat there and all he did was eat and sleep and then...bam!

This was my first Mother's Day and it couldn't have been more perfect.  Michael woke up with Trip and let me sleep in until 9:00.  I can't remember the last time I slept past 6:30.  It was glorious!  He gave me a card from Trip (hand-written by Trip) and one from him (brought a tear to my eye it was so sweet).  Then he made me breakfast and wrote "mom" in whipped cream.  He gave me some really pretty jewelry and a candle from Francesca's and we went on a family outing to our favorite place...Costco.  The woman at check out said "ohhhhh girl!!!  I can't even HANDLE how cute he is!".  Needless to say, life is good and I love to see this little man growing up every day in front of me.

Bittersweet

After months of thought, I have finally decided to wean Trip off of breast feeding. It was such a bittersweet decision because it's the best thing for him, but my supply went way down, and the thought of another weekend of "power pumping" to get my supply back up killed me. I commend people who do it for an entire year while going back to work...that is such a commitment! Trip will be six months in a few weeks, so I feel like I gave it a good run. It was such a blessing to be able to do it for that long, plus such a money-saver! $25 a week on formula, plus food is kicking up our grocery bill something serious!

Trip rolled over for the first time this past Sunday and I jumped up and down like a big goob. I never thought I would get so excited about it, but of course I did. He rolled from his back to his front (which I thought may happen because he hates tummy time so much), and then immediately went from his front to his back.

I understand every new stage/phase brings new and exciting things, but teething makes me feel like I'm back in those first few weeks after having Trip. We aren't sleeping. Between 3:30 and 4:00 in the morning (aka the witching hour), Trip wakes up screaming. The only way I could figure out for him to go back to sleep is to take him to the couch where we sleep from 4 until 6:30. I now understand why people let their kids sleep in the bed with them...sometimes that's all you can do! That won't happen and I know sleeping with him on the couch isn't the best thing for him/us either. We've tried teething tablets, tylenol, orajel (that seems to work the best), etc but no matter what...he always wakes up during that time and we cannot get him back down. I'm hoping this phase passes soon and maybe the next teeth won't be so bad!

I finally made an appointment with a photographer to take Trip's 6 month photos next month and I'm so excited! He is in such a cute stage right now, so I can't wait to get some professional pics taken!! Below are some amateur shots :)

Until next time, have a great Easter!!!

4 Months

Even though he is only 4 months, I cannot get over how fast it has flown by. I feel like this month brought on some changes (only big in my eyes...hahaha). He is holding his head up pretty well, but not as well as I would like him to. We just started him on rice cereal two nights ago. The first night was a big flop because I didn't mix it thick enough and it just fell out of his mouth. I took him to his 4 month check-up and the doc said everything looks great. He is 25" long and weighs just under 15 lbs. He's right at the 50th percentile, but his head is in the 75th. She said he should be rolling over at 6 months and I hope he does. I don't think he's anywhere close.

We tried rice cereal again last night and below is what happened. Keep in mind, this shot is just of him closing his eyes. He was awake during this picture. He sat sideways the entire time I fed him and it was quite entertaining...

We tried putting him in the jumper, but when he only kicks his head sideways and can't hold it up, nevertheless jump, it didn't work too well. He doesn't scream when we put him in the Bumbo, so I guess that's progress?

The women at daycare love him, even though, like every baby, he has his fussy days.

I have to say, just supplementing the rice cereal for one feeding is a huge load off my back. I nurse for a little bit, and then feed him the rice cereal, and so far so good. Then, around 9:00 or 10:00 I give him a formula bottle for his dream feed. He seems to be sleeping better, considering he's been very stopped up for the past week. I hope it keeps up. Doc said that we can start him on baby food after a few days, so I'm really excited to see what he takes to.

Update

Things have been crazy around the Tidwell household, but I've never been happier. Trip has been a dream every since he started day care. We used to have a battle every single night between 6-9 to get him down, but he's been so active at day care, he goes down without a problem between 7 and 8 every night. I can't believe how much he's grown and how much of a personality he has developed just within the last month. He smiles all the time and the only time he cries is when he's fussy or has a bad diaper (knock on wood). I've toyed with the idea of weening him off breast feeding, but then I get on the scale and I've dropped more weight. It's frustrating at times because I do have to plan everything around his feedings and/or pumping. But, at the same time, we're tied together and it really is a special thing to be able to continue doing. I think once he drops the 3:00 a.m. feeding I may reconsider.

I'm happy to say that I have gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I was at my heaviest when I got pregnant. I still want to lose at least 15 more lbs, but it's a good feeling to get back into my old clothes. I must have lost the weight in different areas, or my hips have gotten wider since I had him. Most of my pants still don't quite fit right.

I have also started working from home and it's amazing! In the mornings, I wake up around 6:00 to feed him. He is absolutely at his cutest in the morning time! While Michael is getting ready, I spend that time playing with Trip in the living room and getting in some good snuggle time. After I get them out the door, I get ready for the day. I actually get a ton more work done at home because I don't have the distractions. I've been picking up Trip around 4:00 in the afternoons. The extra time with him makes going back to work that much easier.