This baby is the GREATEST.

I know, I have been SO bad about updating.  I'm going to try and do better on a weekly basis of what Maddox is learning to do every week, since things are changing ever so often at our home!

This sweet little man now has a tooth!  He hates letting me see it though--here is the best picture that I could get.  He also has another that is close to coming through on the top, and the one next to it looks fairly close to coming through!  My toothless wonder is no more!

The reflux is SLOWLY getting better.  Some days are worse than others, but most days are pretty good!  He also loves to eat! Maddox will eat pretty much anything I give him, but his favorites are when he can feed himself.  He loves the yogurt melts and lil' crunchies from Gerber.  He also really loves pancakes, well-cooked pasta, cheerios, and berries of all kinds! Here is a picture of him enjoying a honey wheat pretzel: 

Maddox LOVES to pull up on everything!  Clothes, body parts, his crib, his toys, even his dresser!  He loves to crawl around and climb on Daddy during floor play time!  He loves to army crawl and is very fast, although he hasn't quite mastered the full-on crawl yet.  Maddox wants to stand on his own but hasn't quite figured that out.  Maddox also loves walking around in his walker (I call it the car) and can maneuver and run in it quite well!

Sleep is going ok.  He typically goes down no later than 8:30 in his crib every night.  This week Maddox has been waking up around once a night for the pacifier and then goes back to sleep.  This morning he woke up at 12:30 for the pacifier and then 5:00 to eat, then went back to sleep until 7:45.  He hasn't quite mastered the nap thing, though; he only naps for around 30 minutes to 1 hour at a time and still takes around 3 naps per day.  

Just this morning he started singing for the first time-music to this already-music-loving mama's ears! :)

I love watching this guy grow and love sharing our adventure with you all! Until next week...

Xoxo, S

Watch me go!

Hey y'all!

Mr. Maddox has been moving and growing so much since my last update!  He is so much fun!

He recently discovered that he is ticklish, and it is absolutely hilarious!  He loves being tickled, kissed on his tummy, and laughing at funny sounds!  His laugh is still my favorite thing to hear!

This weekend he experienced his first parade, and of course, LOVED it!

Maddox has also decided he LOVES walking around.  He will walk around with his hands held until he is completely exhausted!  We got him a walker and he hasn't quite figured out how to use it, but I'm sure it won't be long and it will be everywhere!

I recently was looking at all of the pictures on my computer and just wanted to share some as a comparison of current Maddox versus tiny man Maddox we brought home from the hospital!  He was so sweet and tiny!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and enjoy these pictures of this sweet little guy!

Xoxo, Sarah

PS-Still no teeth. :(

Double PS-Just one more for good measure :)

Movin' and a-groovin'.

You guys.  There are not even words to describe how much I have fallen in love with this small little man.  I know they say it doesn't happen overnight, but it certainly feels like it has!  I woke up one day and just hated leaving him.  I always loved him because he was mine, but my love has turned to enamor even more I think!  I want to hang out with him all the time and watch him grow!  He is so much fun!

On that note--how amazing is the human body?!  He grew in my body and now my body feeds his!  Every time I think of that, I'm truly in awe.  The human body does absolutely incredible things.

This tiny man had his six month check up today, even though he's now nearly seven months!  He's now in the 15th percentile for height and 7th percentile for weight!  You may or may not remember, but he was in much lower percentiles only a couple of months back! My little man is turning in to a little chunk! :)

However, our nurse prac we saw today said that we need to be moving him to bigger bottles less frequently to help prep him for doing meals in the future.  Which is HARD!  His reflux still comes and goes, and when it's here, it's no fun!

He's currently on level two baby food.  I wanted to start him on baby led weaning, but he is still a toothless wonder, so we are waiting until he at least has a couple of teeth!  We do have a couple of those net-food things where you can put regular food to help prevent the risk of choking, and thus far he has really enjoyed trying new foods in it!  Here's a picture where he tried his first taste of steak.

He is now also sleeping on his tummy!   And let me just come out and say: it is the best sleep that he has had thus far!  This week he's been sleeping around 8 hours uninterrupted at night (which is heavenly for this Mama!).  Sometimes he will cry out for the pacifier, but often he does not!  It is fantastic.

Maddox's eyes are still blue and his hair is a dark blondish looking number.  I'm convinced he's my mini. :)

Maddox can now roll both directions, and loves barrel-rolling!  Rolling is his main mode of transportation at this point.  He can scale our bed by rolling and no where elevated is safe (including the carseat!).  I walk around and just put him tummy down everywhere I go now.  Maddox isn't yet crawling, but he can push himself up quite far and when on his tummy does a swimming motion, which I'm told is normal and a step before crawling.  He tries to do an army-type crawling number, but he isn't really that successful yet.  Maddox LOVES to stand AND loves his jumper!  He's such a fun dude.

Typically I make my updates all about Maddox, but just a note to state how awesome my first Mother's Day was!  My boys definitely spoiled me with all my favorite things (and so did my Mama!).  This weekend, Andy and I celebrate our SIXTH wedding anniversary!  He's put up with me for over 10 years now...geez!  I sure am lucky!  Next week we are taking a trip to see our favorites, Zac Brown Band as our present!  I am so jacked up about it! :)

Maddox also now knows his name and now responds to it!  It's so fun to watch him!  He also does a fun lip-smacking sound and it is my favorite thing ever!!  Maddox man, you are so much fun! He loves having his tummy kissed and cheeks eaten and it brings out the sweetest laugh I've ever heard.  Ok, I lied.  Hearing that laugh is my favorite thing ever.  I have enjoyed the last six and a half months with this sweet little dude, and the thought of him growing and learning makes my heart so happy!

It's a lip-smacking good time.

Until next time,
Xo-Sarah

Feet, Smiles, Camping, and Bunnies.

Someone please tell me how it's possible that I have nearly SIX month old baby?! Tell me. I'll call you a liar, too. Because I'm pretty sure it was nearly yesterday we brought that seven pound nugget home from the hospital who just laid around, slept all day and pooped and ate in two hour intervals. 

Now we have a sweet, happy dude who is eating baby food and cereal, loves standing up, sits supported, loves tv, and sleeps like a champ! And oh, the laughs. This kid loves to laugh. And this Mama LOVES hearing that sweet little laugh and seeing that sweet smile that lights up the room! 

I had every intention of doing baby led solids. However, our doc asked us to hold off until six months or first teeth, whichever comes first. Again...six months is just a couple of weeks away. (STOP IT, TIME. JUST STOP RUSHING RIGHT NOW.) So for now, Maddox is just getting cereal and baby food mixed together twice per day along with his regularly scheduled milk. His favorite foods thus far appear to be peaches and pears. He's not sure about peas yet, and sweet potatoes have made him constipated. :( I look forward to baby led solids very soon! I have heard only good things and cannot wait to watch him!

The dude now knows how to blow raspberries and loves it.  He also loves Mama's jeep! :)  He is an excellent camper and such a curious guy about everything!

Sleep continues to be great! But...the dude is trying very, very hard to roll over and see what is behind him. And that which I dread also seems to be nearing. Maddox LOVES his swaddle sack and pacifier at night. We did buy a zipadeezip hoping this would help with the transition that is ever so close. We put him in it Saturday night, turned the monitor on, and it was like a crib dance party. This kid had no idea what to do with his arm freedom. He was so excited that he kept knocking out his pacifier. MULTIPLE. TIMES. From 1-2 that morning one of us was in there like every 5 minutes giving him the dang pacifier. So Andy got up to feed him at 2 once he could not be soothed back to sleep and swaddled him up. He slept the rest of the night. And since then, he has slept like a champ (including last night when he chose to sleep from 6-6:30, waking only twice when we woke him to eat before bed. So--I am completely open to swaddle transition suggestions.  :(

As you may have also seen on facebook, Maddox loves his toes! He loves grabbing them and looking at them! He hasn't quite figured out how to get them into his mouth yet. It's only a matter of time. He also loves using his hands and often takes out his pacifier with his hands and puts it back. Other times, he grabs the pacifier, flails it around, and throws it across the room. :)

This guy loves to talk! And I love listening to him. He has a new giggle that I also love to hear. He's definitely my favorite. 

Finally...we entered our sweet guy into the Tribune's cute baby contest. If you would be so kind and vote for my guy, we would very much appreciate it! Link below!!

       http://columbiatribune.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=V&c=165448&s=76009103&i=1&sort=DESCENDING#SD 

I can't wait to hopefully update with more good sleep news and baby led solid news next time! 

Xo Sarah

PS-I think our Easter Bunny went a little overboard.  He visited both grandparents' houses and ours as well! :)

4.5 month update!

So very much has happened since my last update!

My sweet Maddox continues to sleep in his crib. There's not a ton of consistency, but usually at least 4 hours per night (but sometimes 7)! He still LOVES being swaddled and loves snuggles with Daddy after his nighttime bottle! 

We also got the all-clear to start cereal with Maddox. And it cracks me up because so far...he's not a fan. And of course also doesn't realize it's food, which is fun trying to spoon feed a baby while he's yelling because he wants his bottle! We started feeding him his cereal after his bottle to help with that. Feeding him the cereal before the bottle meant a baby who spits up a lot more than normal when he burps from the bottle. :( I really look forward to feeding him other foods once he gets the hang of spoon feeding and seeing what foods he likes! 

I ended up trying the coconut oil treatment for Maddox's cradle cap. It worked like a charm! Except that Maddox hated it and literally screamed at me the entire time I was coming it through. But now it is mostly gone!:)

Our pediatrician said Maddox is in the 2nd percentile for weight and height but 40th percentile in head circumference. :) Hence the slow growing. I did weigh him yesterday and he officially weighs 13 pounds! Our pediatrician also said he sees Maddox's two bottom teeth but that they aren't ready to push through just yet. Which is ok--I'll keep my pain-free baby for as long as possible!

And as you likely saw if you follow me on facebook, Maddox rolled over last week! He's still not a huge fan of tummy time and I really just have to get him in the right "mood" for tummy time, otherwise he ends up rubbing his face on whatever he's laying on and then screaming at me.

Maddox is also now learning to play and loves grabbing at things, especially things that light up!  He's so fun to play with and watch now!

Oh. I can admit I've saved the best update for last. This little boy can LAUGH! And he thinks his Daddy is the funniest guy ever. So far only Daddy makes him laugh, which is ok because then I can laugh and smile along too! Oh, watching those two makes my heart SO incredibly full and happy! 

I can't wait for my next update and hope for it to include topless jeep days and time in the pool. No? Well, maybe I'm overly ambitious about the weather :) But I'm sure my next update will include lots of other fun things!!

Until next time...

Xo Sarah 

Up in this crib...

I know, I said I wouldn't do this. But I did! Has it really been almost a month since I've blogged?! Oops! Time sure does fly when you get to spend all your extra time with the two cutest boys in the world! 

Lately we've been doing more tummy time in an attempt to help maddox get closer to rolling over. We've not really had success thus far. In fact, maddox hates tummy time! Usually if I put him flat, he will rub his nose around on the ground until he gets tired of it and then starts to tell about it. I've started putting him on top of the boppy to help with this and it does help a bit, although not all the time. I did manage to snap this gem with my phone during tummy time the other day. His faces just make me laugh all day. 

At the recommendation of our pediatrician (and completely against my desires, noted below), we moved maddox to the crib this weekend. I feared he would yell and scream and that it just wouldn't be good. On top of that, I feared I wouldn't hear him until he was screaming at night (which isn't fun). Finally, I worried about his reflux and being flat in the crib. Our pediatrician said we could angle his mattress like his rock and play was if we wanted. 

We started getting him ready for the crib on Monday. We moved his rock and play and humidifier into his room so he could get use to the temperature, smell, and sounds of his own room. He did great In his rock and play in his room! So, Friday night, his mattress was ready and angled and his humidifier was full and ready in his room. I fed and swaddled and put on the noise machine and put him down. And six hours later...without crying...he woke up to let me  know he was hungry. We watched the monitors like Hawks that night! He moved around a lot (A LOT) which amazes me since he is still swaddled! At one point we woke up and his head was at the foot of the bed. Because of this, we agreed to remove the blankets angling he mattress. Saturday night we went on with our bedtime routine and he slept only four hours. But Sunday night? EIGHT hours! 

Which brings me to my question. When do these start to level out? One night four hours, another six, and another eight? Why? 

So my guy is finally in his crib in his own room and I can't express the relief and freedom I feel! Just in time for the four month sleep regression. Did anyone else's baby go through this? I dread it! 

The reflux remains an issue with no major update. Womp womp. The worst part of reflux is that his car seat straps are totally gross because he spits up nearly every time he's in his car seat. Ick. 

This past Saturday maddox just started talking to us. It's my favorite thing to hear him "ooh" and "ahh" over nothing. I love having little "ooh" conversations together! 

And my favorite thing for Maddox's third month of life? His twilight turtle that my work friends got me! It's the perfect nightlight and it casts constellations on his walls and ceiling! It even goes to sleep after a certain amount of time and puts out three different colors! I love it! 

I promise I'll try to not let it be another month before I update!

Xoxo, S

Bedtime routine and my new favorite baby item!

Welcome loves!

As promised, today's blog post is dedicated to our nightly bedtime routine for Maddox.

I guess I should start by saying that we currently don't bathe him every night because he really doesn't get THAT dirty.  We typically bathe him on Sunday and Wednesday nights and have been for a while.  I've been tracking his sleep patterns and it honestly doesn't appear to effect his sleep either way!  I know a lot of parents use bathtime as a way to start off their bedtime routine, but so far we haven't found it necessary.  When did you start using bath time as your bedtime routine?

Typically Maddox eats on a two-hour schedule during the day right now.  He usually eats around 7-8ish and then we let him "nap" in the living room for a couple hours until he eats once more before we go to bed.

If he eats around 8, I make Andy get Maddox down to his diaper and wake him again around 9:30-10, which is the beginning of our routine.  Andy always feeds him the last time of the night and I pump while they're doing their thing.

After this part is over, I usually take Maddox in for a diaper change and then I rub him down with nighttime lotion.  I then try and burp him a second time and then swaddle him in a swaddle me sack.  I love those because they are SO easy and keeps the legs free for him in case he needs to move in the middle of the night (and they come in super cute designs).

Once he's swaddled, I typically turn him on his side while I'm holding him, with his tummy touching mine. This helps get out any bubbles and helps settle his tummy.  I carry him into the bedroom like this and then continue to hold him this way.

After he's in the bedroom, I rock him for a minute or two--five if he's fussy.  Also if he's fussy, I give him his pacifier and shush him and pat his butt until he's calm.  Lately though, he's been going down like a rockstar (knock on wood?!) and I don't have to do much patting or shush-ing.

I know lots of other people use singing or books for their bedtime routines.  When did you start using those?  I'm not opposed but I don't really know Maddox would appreciate or understand this as part of his routine.

And yes, he's still in our room in his rock and play.  And he is ROCKING it right now.  Last night he slept SEVEN.  HOURS.  IN A ROW!!!!  I could keep up with this.  Too bad teething is on the horizon soon right?

Finally: my new favorite baby item.  I've mentioned before how much I LOVE wearing Maddox and how well he does with it.  As much as I loved wearing him in the baby Bjorn, I worried often that it didn't bunch him together enough and was too cold.  I had been searching for a while for something different and follow several people on instagram who also love baby wearing (check out CoconutRobot on instagram) and was totally inspired!

And thus, my love for Sakura Bloom was born.  I knew even before christmas that I wanted one, but that price was NOT something I loved.  I found another site that made customized ring slings and was interested in those, but this particular site only took so many orders at a time and I missed out.  I ended up buying a ring sling from etsy that is grey, but it too is custom-made and hasn't come in yet.  And two days later, Sakura Bloom announced that they'd be having a flash sample sale!! Even though I'd already bought a sling from etsy, I couldn't resist.  So I logged on the day of the sale and got SUPER lucky (these slings sell SO SO SO quickly, like within minutes) and I happened to snag one before they sold out.  It's not grey like I had originally wanted, but it's a Sakura Bloom so I'm still happy!  I got notification last week that it was on its way and then today it arrived!  I couldn't wait to try it on, and I'm clearly not the only one who enjoyed it! :)

What are/were your favorite baby items at this stage?

PS-how is it possible I have a nearly three month old?!?!

Xoxoxo, S