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.

First Day Back

Today was Trip's first day of daycare and my first day back at work. I'm not going to lie, I cried. It's just so emotional having a baby, getting to spend every waking moment together (and most naps together) and then having to go back to work. Now, I'm not going to lie, there have been some days where I have been beyond the point of frustrated, but of course this morning he was an angel. Of course! He was so snuggly after I fed him and then he was all smiles and giggles when I was getting him dressed. For some idiotic reason, I thought I could wake up at 6:15 with a baby and still get out of the house at 7:15...ha! But, the rush helped me not to dwell on what today really meant.

Michael took him to daycare and I was proud of myself for only calling one time to check on him. He did great (of course). He ate every three hours, had play time, and took a few short naps. I have been giving him at least one bottle a day so he doesn't forget, but we are still purely breast feeding. Pumping at work is weird. I don't like it.

When I got to work I was somewhat overwhelmed with everything I needed to take care of. I am taking this week to work in the office and as of Monday, I will be a contract employee and only working from home. I'm so very grateful I get to do this, plus I am now working on Cooking with Paula Deen and Southern Lady magazines. This is more responsibility, but I'm really excited about the new challenge. I had a conference call right out of the gate, and it went really well! I haven't lost my touch :)

Since I was so busy, Michael picked Trip up and brought him home. When he walked in the door, someone was in the floor playing with Trip and that made me feel at ease. I jumped out of the house when I heard him pull in and ran to get him out of the back seat. He was super sweet and we bathed him, and not 30 minutes later he was dead asleep. I just don't know how I feel about this! He has not been going to sleep until 9:00 at night and he gets so much stimulation at daycare that he falls asleep an hour and 15 minutes after he's home? That's just not enough time!! I'm so excited to be able to work from home, so I can get a little extra time with him for that exact reason.

Thank God for Breast Feeding

I'm back in size 10 jeans!!! I'm fully aware that is not a small size, but this is HUGE for my ego right now. I had my doubts about breast feeding burning a lot of calories and if it was going to help, but it really has. I was over 200 lbs when I went into the hospital and I'm happy to report that I'm around 10 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Lately, Trip has been a little "off" with his schedule, so I'm not sure if that had something to do with being in Decatur for the holidays. He was so exhausted while we were home from all the attention, so he slept 8 hours all three nights. Last night, however, he was up practically all day long and still woke up at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 this morning. Just when you think you have things under control, we will have a night like last night.

Christmas was great and Trip got a ton of great stuff and it was such a special holiday. What a year this has been. This time last year, we weren't even really thinking about having a baby and then...bam! I'm so completely obsessed with him and I'm super bummed I only have a week and a half left of maternity leave. The good news is that I can work from home. He will still definitely have to go to daycare, but not full time. I'm so very blessed and cannot believe how wonderful a life I have! I'm looking forward to 2012 and what it will bring!!!