Since Mid-September... Reader's Digest Version, I Promise!

So much has happened in the last few weeks.

September 17th-27th: Richard's family came to visit. This was the first time Papa, Grandma, Uncle Shawn, Aunt Susan, and cousin Samuel got to meet Reagan. We spent a lot of time together and everyone got to hold Reagan (even Samuel)! Here are a few pictures from our time together.









September 28th: Reagan rolled over from back to tummy in his crib for the first time. I snapped a picture at 4am, while he was screaming to be picked up and fed. (Felt guilty for letting him scream while I took the picture, but he'll thank me later for documenting such a momentous occasion, I'm sure.) :)


September 30th: I visited a great consignment sale and grabbed a bunch of adorable clothes for Reagan for... $26.75! Can't believe the steals I got! Check it out. My favorite is the Turtle sweater and pants.


October 1st: Reagan's 2 month well check up went... well. :) He measured 23 inches long (that's 2 inches of growth in 10 weeks), putting him in the 78th percentile for length. He weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs, 13.7 oz (gained 6 pounds since birth), putting him in the 99th percentile for weight! Atta-boy! He also got 3 shots in his tender, chunky thighs. Both of us did well--I didn't watch the needles sticking him, held him tight when all was done, and he only cried for about 5 minutes after the fact, then fell asleep in the car on the way home. Here's a picture of him outside of the doctor's office while we waited for our car to be pulled up (complimentary valet is awfully nice for a momma with a car seat in tow)!


October 2nd: Reagan attended his first sporting event with Momma, Daddy, Candace, Derek, and Veronica. He was happy for most of the event... until he got hungry. After eating, he slept peacefully through the 3rd period. Sure does pay off to make sure there is always noise when the baby is sleeping. No need to tip-toe around this kid!

October 4th: Reagan rolled over for the second time in his crib, during his morning nap! We still have yet to get him to do it outside of his crib, and while we are watching, but I'm so proud of my little chunk!


October 5th: I cleaned out the pantry. It was gross. Boring as it may seem to you, I was delighted at this before and after shot! :)
BEFORE


AFTER

Life as we know it...

Things are quickly changing in the Smother-bode. Reagan is becoming less and less like an accessory every day. Up until this point, taking him places was much like toting another bag. Richard and I each had our purses, the diaper bag, and Reagan in the car seat. He would fall asleep in the car on the way to our destination, and stay that way for at least 3 hours until hunger set in.

Well, I noticed things change in a dramatic way last night. Reagan stayed awake the whole car ride to church, and stayed awake the whole service. He started leaning forward in his car seat during the ride and once we go to church he wanted out. He was smiling and interacting with people more. He did really well, and only had to be taken out for a diaper change and quick feeding. This is exciting and sad at the same time! I looked at him in his swing the other day and noticed how big he's getting already. He has slept 7 hours 3 out of 4 nights this week, which I'm grateful for, but it's just another sign that he's growing up. I've stepped on and off the scale with this little chubster and he's at least 14 lbs. now, at 2 months! Yikes! I think he's going to out grow both of us! My baby won't be a baby much longer!

The Great Sleepathon, Nights #6, 7, and 8

I know I said I'd only write about our first week of sleeping, but the 8th day was very important to include. So, please forgive me for adding one extra day!

Night #6: Reagan didn't eat well because of his tummy troubles, so after about 1/2 an hour of crying, he ate again, then settled down. However, he was up about every 2 hours and grazed in his eating throughout the night. This made for a VERY tired momma the next day (Labor Day)!

Night #7: We used our Labor Day holiday to get a few things at Wal-Mart and paint our living room.

BEFORE:



AFTER:

Because of the paint, we had to contain Reagan to his room with the door shut. We quickly realized that his room was too warm with the door shut (ventilation isn't so great in there), so he got to hang out in his bassinet for the night. Our cute little nearly 14 lb. baby looks HUGE in the bassinet! It's amazing how much room he takes up in it! He slept well, only waking up to eat after about 4 hours each time.

Night #8: TONIGHT was amazing! I went through the routine, put Reagan down, Richard and I said goodnight and kissed him. He went to sleep within 10 minutes, with just a few whimpers! We're really getting this thing down!

The Great Sleepathon, Nights #4 & 5

And we have... SUCCESS! :)

Well, Reagan has really caught on to this whole sleeping in his crib thing really fast! I had read an article on Parents.com about how to get your baby sleeping in his crib in a week, and we've been able to do it fairly successfully in less than a week! Either he's a really good baby, or we're just that good!

Night #4 (Friday): Reagan cried for about 1/2 an hour, I went in, changed his diaper, fed him. (He hasn't been eating well lately because he's been having tummy aches and gets upset while he's eating, so he'll graze sometimes throughout the day. I've been giving him gripe water, but it doesn't erase the tummy aches all together... just eases it for a while after taking the medicine.) After I put him down, he whimpered for about 3 minutes, then he was out! 4 hours of sleep, a feeding, and another 4 hours of sleep! This kid's a champ!

Night #5 (Saturday): Reagan was so tired after we'd been with friends playing cards for the evening. No crying, whatsoever. A few little whimpers, and he was out! Just like the previous nights, he slept 4 hours before getting hungry again each time and was easy to put down when he woke in the middle of the night.

Rubix is grateful to have us back to herself in the bedroom. She'd been a little mopey the last few weeks once she got used to Reagan being in here with us. I think she's pretty happy he's got his own bed now and his crying over the monitor piques her interest a little.

Oh, and one interesting tid-bit. Reagan's starting to develop a slight quirk in his bedtime routine. He has a little odd obsession with his striped crib bumper. As soon as he's put down in the crib, his left arm stretches out, and he begins poking and staring at it. Odd? Yes. Unexpected? Have you met his father? :) I love my family!

The Great Sleepathon, Night #3

Well, we went through our bedtime routine last night, and after about 20 minutes of crying, and a diaper change, Reagan got quiet. I cheered, and told Richard our time was going down, so that was a good thing. I didn't think it could be this easy... and it wasn't. Reagan was lulling us into thinking he was done so we'd be calm for what was to come next. 20 more minutes of straight crying! Thinking something might be wrong, I went to check on him. He got silent when I picked him up. (So neat that I can have this effect on him!) He was dripping in sweat, but that was because of the crying, kicking, and screaming. I held him so he could cool off and calm down in the fan. Then, while I was holding him, he started acting hungry (which was weird, since I'd fed him only 2.5 hours before (and he doesn't usually get hungry for about 3.5-4 hours). I felt like a bad mommy for letting him cry all that time!

After he ate, he went down for another hour of crying (with me checking on him periodically, to make sure he was truly okay). I nearly caved in because I felt so bad that he was crying. However, I knew that he was well fed, had a clean diaper, and would calm down as soon as he saw me. This meant he was testing me! I almost got him and put him in the swing in our room, but right when I was about to, he calmed down and fell asleep (whether from pure exhaustion or the realization that he was not going to get out of that crib, I'm not sure).

He slept for 4 hours straight, ate, was changed, and was back in the crib and asleep within 5 minutes for another 4 hours! When he woke up this morning, he got another diaper change, ate, and has been sleeping for about 2.5 hours so far! HOORAY! We will accomplish this with less crying tonight, I'm SURE! :) (Well, at least, I hope for Reagan's poor little lungs, we do!)