Extra Extra

I spoke with Dr. Ally's nurse a little while ago and she wants us to keep going with the cereal. I forgot to mention in my previous post that one of the problems we were having was that Aiden never seemed satisfied with his meals until he was absolutely stuffed full (and then he had to vomit to let it out a bit). Dr. Ally thought the cereal might help him feel more satisfied without being stuffed to the gills and help with the spitting up.

He is feeling satisfied with 3 ounces now (where before he sometimes still wanted more after eating 4 ounces) so she thinks the cereal is serving at least part of its purpose. They want me to take him in on Tuesday to get weighed. If he's still gaining we will keep doing the cereal. If he's not gaining I guess we'll try something else. FYI...he's getting 1tsp of rice cereal per ounce of milk so gets about 3 tsp with every bottle.

So we will continue to have the laundry issue until he is able to stop spitting up (and I hope that is soon).

Mr. Spitty Wiggler

We've been adding cereal to Aiden's bottles trying to reduce the amount of vomit coming out of the young man's mouth. Sadly, it doesn't seem to be working so I have a call in to Dr. Ally's office to see what she suggests. The spitting up doesn't seem to be anything more than a laundry problem (he's gaining and such) but Dr. Ally still wants to see if we can fix it.

In other news, we've recently discovered that Aiden is pretty independent. I bought a nice mobile at Kid to Kid for $16.99 (retail price $40 or more) and it's a huge hit. This morning he spent 25 minutes in his crib just gazing and cooing while Adam and I worked on laundry, breakfast and such. He also really likes laying on a blanket on the floor and looking around. If he starts fussing we just move him a little (to give him a different view) and he's good for another 10 minutes.

Today we're going to meet Lorna (the babysitter whose son was in my class last year). We also have to run to the post office, write thank you notes and clean up around the house. Norma and Julie are arriving at 9:30pm but Aiden will already be in bed so they might not get to see him until tomorrow morning. We'll have to see how it goes.

Weight Chart

I found a place online where you can enter weight data and see it plotted on a chart just like the one Dr. Ally uses.

New Pics

I uploaded five new pictures to our album...just click on the slideshow.

Late Night Wardrobe Change

Aiden's been sleeping pretty well the last few nights. Sleeping five or six hour blocks is really great BUT the diapers aren't really up to the challenge. Aiden's already a pretty heavy wetter so when he's wearing the diaper two hours past his normal diaper change, we end up with a leak. We could just put another liner in the cloth diaper but we're already using a pretty bulky liner for his size so adding another would be kind of ridiculous.

Adam and I talked about it this morning and decided to use a disposable diaper tonight to see if we can avoid the late night wardrobe change. I hope I don't have to change his clothes at 3am again tonight!

2 Month Checkup

Our day started with the RTI meeting at school. After the meeting we came home to put the diapers in the dryer and feed Aiden and then left to see Dr. Ally. He is now 21 inches (3rd percentile), weighs 8lbs 12 oz (10th percentile) and has a head circumference of 37 cm (5th percentile). Just in case you don't remember percentiles (and I usually have to be reminded of what it means), being in the 10th percentile for weight means 90% of babies his age weigh more than him.

Dr. Ally said he still looks great. Yes, he's small for his age but he's on the curve so we don't have anything to worry about. In fact, he jumped ahead a little on the weight curve so that's good! He's been spitting up A LOT lately (probably 0.5-1 oz per feeding) and he doesn't seem to mind but Dr. Ally asked me to add a teaspoon or two of rice cereal to a few of his bottles and see if it helps. If we don't see an improvement with rice cereal, she wants us to call and discuss other ideas. I was a little hesitant to go the cereal route but I trust her. Plus, I did some research of my own just now and read that some people really see a big improvement adding rice cereal.

Now...for the shots. I gave Aiden a pep talk and reminded him that we're only giving him shots so he won't get sick later. I promised him a cool band aid or a sticker at the end of the session and we agreed to be calm about the shots. He didn't keep up his end of the deal though. There were three shots and he started a kind of whining cry a few seconds after getting stuck the first time. By the time all the shots were over, he was screaming.

He was inconsolable, refusing the pacifier and not responding to shushing BUT I had a really good idea to calm him down. I gave him his bottle for a few seconds and, once he was calm, switched him to the pacifier. (Just in case that method bothers you...don't worry because I've never done it before and I don't plan to use it on a regular basis but the screaming was earsplitting and I definitely couldn't drive home with him screaming like that). Once he had the pacifier he fell asleep and he's been sleeping nearly two hours which gave me the opportunity to get some shopping done.

His next appointment is May 2 at 11am. May 2 is a Friday so Adam will be taking him.

I guess that just about covers our day so far. Julie and Norma are visiting this weekend so I will probably have new pictures to post on Sunday.

We Slept Like Babies

Aiden's been eating a lot this week and not having a lot of yucky diapers so we think he's going through a growth spurt. I'm taking him for his shots tomorrow so I will have new height and weight stats (and head circumference for Aunt Shannon!).

Last night we fed Aiden and gave him a bath around 8:30. He loves baths but he HATES getting out of the tub and screams like a maniac as soon as we get him out. After his bath and a diaper change, we swaddled him and put him down around 9:30. He woke up just before 4 this morning. Yep, that means he slept about six hours straight! I credit the two blanket swaddling method. Last night I used the second blanket to wrap up his legs since he's always kicking like crazy.

New Clothes and a New Feature

Saturday we went to Kid to Kid and bought a wipe warmer and nine outfits for $28! He's wearing one of his outfits right now...a cute fleece sleeper from Osh Kosh. It's green and lime green striped with an alligator logo.

I just added a new feature to our blog. If you click the "call me" button and enter your phone number, the service will call you and then connect you to our phone. You can leave a message if we don't answer and it will be emailed to us which will probably let us post messages on our blog. It's a new feature from Google and Blogger and I thought it would be fun to try.

This Little Piggy Slept in a Crib

I mentioned in a previous post that I had purchased fabric to make Aiden a second swaddling blanket. I don't think I mentioned though that the print is of cute little piggies! Today I got out my sewing machine for the first time since going back to school in January 2006. In addition to the swaddling blanket, I made an extra thick burp cloth using a white diaper burp cloth and adding a layer of this cute piggy flannel. I still have some flannel left so I am going to get some satin blanket binding and make a "lovie" which is a very small security blankie. I will probably make a few more deluxe burp cloths if I have time.

When Aiden was first born he had 3 beds...a bassinet in our room, a crib in his room and a bassinet in the playyard in the living room. He slept in the bassinet for a few weeks. We moved the playyard bassinet into his room and started having him sleep in it a week or two ago. Today I cleared out his crib (we had been using it as a holding pen for his stuff) and put him down for a nap in it. He looked awfully cute so I took a picture which you see at the top of this post.

I just uploaded new pictures (as promised). You probably know this but just click on the slideshow to go to our Picasa Web Album.

What a Day!

I love Fridays because that means Adam is home all day! Today was also the day my friends at school scheduled a baby shower. It was a lot of fun and Aiden spent most of his time being held and admired by the various ladies in attendance. Adam was on hand to deal with extreme fussiness but we only needed him a few times. We got a lot of really nice gifts we can't wait to use.

We've been swaddling Aiden at night for sleeping and it really helps calm him down. Unfortunately, we only have one blanket that's really big enough for swaddling so I bought some flannel today and I'm going to make him another one. Our new swaddling strategy is to follow the method Dr. Karp discusses in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and then wrap a second blanket around him. The second blanket really calms him down and keeps him swaddled longer.

This weekend I'll be writing thank you notes and hanging out with my two favorite men. Tomorrow we'll also try to get some new pictures uploaded.

I'm Back

Sorry for the silence! I attended a National Education Association conference last weekend and my mom came into town on Monday night. She went back to Portland last night so things are back to normal.

I had a lot of fun at the conference and Adam really stepped up to the plate with Aiden. Friday night was pretty rough and by the time I got home that night Adam was very tired and immediately fell asleep on the couch. Saturday was easier for the boys and Adam says it was a lot of fun. We had friends over on Sunday night to watch the Knight Rider premiere and probably stayed up too late (but had a lot of fun).

My mom arrived Monday afternoon and she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Aiden. She watched him Wednesday morning so I could attend a meeting at work. It was funny because everyone at work was so excited to see me...until they realized Aiden wasn't with me and then they were still happy to see ME but disappointed they didn't get to see the man. I'll be going to the Wednesday morning RTI meeting every week and I will probably be bringing Aiden with me.

Tomorrow my friends at school are having a shower for us. Aiden's coming (of course) and Adam's coming to take care of him just in case he gets fussy. It should be fun! I think it's so nice of them to organize this.

Now, on the topic of cloth diapers...we still love them. In fact, we're thinking about possibly setting up a business so we can sell them since the only businesses in our state currently selling them are WAY up north. I've discovered we need extra liners because one diaper is pretty much unusable after one liner disappeared in the wash. Also, we are planning to order another 6-12 diapers so we can wash the diapers every other night.

Whew, that got long. Thanks for sticking with it! I'll have some new pictures up in the next day or two to reward you :)

Hurrah!

The cloth diapers are here! There are three in the dryer right now and we will be able to use them at his next diaper change. We're so glad they finally arrived as we've had several diaper explosions in the last week.

In other news...I've sung "The Ants go Marching" so many times in the last week that I've lost count. It's Aiden's favorite bouncing song.

Our Valentine

Aiden is happily resting in the Baby Bjorn right now. I've been doing dishes and trying to get the house ready for my weekend at the National Education Association Pacific Regional Leadership Conference. Don't worry though, it's in Boise so I'll be home at night. Plus, I know Adam will do a great job taking care of Aiden...he's a natural. Today I need to go grocery shopping but I'm waiting around for a mysterious present from Adam to be delivered. I hope it comes soon!

New Number

We got a land line! I emailed the number to a bunch of people but if I forgot to include you and you'd like our number, you can email me.

Miscellaneous Updates

Today has been kind of exciting. Aiden was very fussy all day so I was feeling pretty fried. I've been giving him gripe water and Axid and he seems to be much happier now. Once I got him calmed down, I put him in the swing rocker thing we got on craigslist. He was wearing a white onesie and I was on the phone making an appointment to get a home phone. All of a sudden he kicked off his blanket and I heard the loudest diaper noise ever. We ended up with a diaper explosion that required an immediate bath. I haven't figured out how to clean the rocker (I'll let Adam figure it out).

Tomorrow we're getting a home phone for the first time in almost 5 years. I don't know the number yet but you can email me if you'd like it.

Thank Goodness

I bought a vibrating travel swing for $10 yesterday (I found it on craigslist) and I swear it is the best money I've ever spent. Aiden's been very colicky for the last few weeks, always at this time of day. Today I've been able to keep him calm in the swing and it has made my afternoon much easier.

Colicky Goodness

Aiden's been crying every evening for the last two weeks. I finally decided to bring him in to Dr. Ally just to make sure it wasn't something serious. She gave us the totally non-helpful diagnosis of colic but at least we know it isn't anything to worry about. Now we just have to wait it out.

Our Cutie Pie

Click to enlarge

Cloth Diapers

Adam's grandmother Sue read an article in Guideposts about the woman who started babyworks. It's based in Portland and they carry a variety of green baby products, including really cool cloth diapers. I wanted to use cloth diapers but with all the craziness of the last six weeks I let the idea go. Now that we're settling into a routine I decided to crunch the numbers and bite the bullet. I went ahead and ordered 12 of the bumGenius 3.0 diapers, they will fit Aiden until he weighs 30 lbs (hopefully he'll be potty trained by then!?!?) and they are really easy to use. We have 30 days to try them out and if we hate them we can return them for a full refund. I think we will like them though and if we do I will buy another 12. I figure they will pay for themselves in 2-3 months and we will have them forever.

Newish Pictures

Aiden's audience has demanded new pictures and I'm doing my best to comply. These were taken during Adam's dad's visit the weekend of January 26. I will post some newer pictures and videos later in the week.

Chunky Monkey II

I took Aiden in to get weighed today and he is up to 7 lbs 6 oz.

Babies for Obama II

We tried to go see Obama today but there were a lot of people there and we didn't want to wait outside in the freezing cold for an hour or more. Turns out we made a good decision because thousands of people were turned away! So now we're watching it on our laptop.

Babies for Obama

Tomorrow morning we are going to see Barack Obama at Taco Bell Arena here in Boise. Aiden is an ardent Obama supporter and insisted we go see what he's all about. We will let you know how it goes. Oh and don't worry, we know there will be a lot of people there but we will keep Aiden all covered up and safe from the strangers. But if Obama wants a baby to kiss for a photo op, we will make Aiden available.