184 days

A letter for our son.

Today marks six months (that's 184 days) since you, our dear, sweet boy first entered this world.  Sometimes it feels like everything happened just days ago.  I remember everything so vividly--the excitement when the contractions first began, the joy we both felt when we first saw and heard you, the tears we cried after you arrived, thankful everything had gone so smoothly and that you were really here.  Other days, it feels like you've always been with us, like we've always been a family.

Six months ago, we began to look at the world through a whole new pair of eyes.  We learned to enjoy every moment before it passed by.  Our busy lives slowed down so we could take in the "little things".  We watched you sleep, listening to each breath you took.  We've already been through so many "firsts" with you--the first time you... smiled, laughed, rolled over, pulled on a toy in your car seat, bounced in your jumperoo, sat up on your own, ate solid food, cut your first tooth (and another a week later), and many, many more.  Every day you experience something new and we are right there with you, watching your excitement in the things we once took for granted.  Impromptu peek-a-boo games, staring contests, watching Rubix stare at squirrels, eating reading books, singing nursery rhymes, dancing for your entertainment; these are the things our life is about now.  Not a day goes by that we wish for something different.  Not a day goes by that we wonder what life would be like now without you in it.  Every day that goes by includes a thank you to God for giving us such a wonderful, happy, and healthy boy.

Here's to new experiences, and looking at them through your sweet gray-blue eyes!

All our love,
Momma and Daddy

Our sweet boy on the day of his birth!

1 Month

2 Months

3.5 Months

5 Months

6 Months, minus 1 day

Made with Love, By Mom

If you've ever talked to me for more than a minute, you know I'm a sucker for a bargain (and hate paying full price for anything).  In fact, last Sunday I nearly jumped out of my car to save the coupons that had been irreverently scattered across the road at the entrance to our neighborhood.  (Shame on whoever did that!)

Needless to say, the transition from exclusively breastfeeding (which, of course, is the most nutritious and cost-effective FREE-est way to feed your baby) to working our way into the world of solid foods has been really bothering me because of the cost.  The thought of buying baby food off the shelf at full price has really gotten me thinking.  Sure, I can find coupons and maybe get some good deals on occasion (and stock up when I can).  In fact, I did this months ago when some organic baby food was on sale (got $14 worth for about $4).  Still, Reagan will go through those in a matter of days.  I needed to find something much more cost-effective (and a way for me to know EXACTLY what is in the food my little guy is eating).

Enter Wholesome Baby Food, a website chock full of recipes and meal plans for your growing baby.  Not only is this a cheaper way to feed your child, but a much more healthy way, too (and the recipes are EASY)!  Today I made my first batch of homemade sweet potato puree for Reagan.  It only took me 45 minutes of baking 2 sweet potatoes + 5 minutes of pureeing them in the blender with a little breastmilk and some filtered water to get enough to fill 2 ice cube trays plus a little for a taste test.  I'm freezing them for a quick defrost-able meal for our little man. 

Oh, and here's how the taste test went:

Don't let his absent, deer-in-the-headlights look fool you.  He LOVED it!  He just gets sleepy when it's eating time.

A little MySpace action.

Oh, What a Night!

Early January, back in '11...  Reagan showed us what parenthood's all about and earned us 20 bucks in the process!

On our way home from dinner last night, we stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries.  Our sweet little guy was coughing, but it was only occasional and sounded really sweet, so I figured he just had a little tickle in his throat.  Then, all of a sudden, we heard the dreaded sound of throwing up.  We were already in the store parking lot, so we quickly parked, got him out and Richard kept guard while I changed him.  I had noticed a large SUV with its tail lights on one row over, and I motioned to Richard to keep an eye on it.  (If you've ever been with me at night in a parking lot, I'm like a hawk--looking around constantly, so I can be totally aware of my surroundings.)  Right about the time we got Reagan back in his car seat and were getting ready to head into the store, a woman got out of the SUV and walked over to us, with her cell phone up to her ear.  Her car wasn't starting and she needed a jump, but she was keeping her sister on the phone for safety reasons (and she said when she saw we had a baby, we seemed safe enough to ask).  We quickly got her car started and she thanked us, then handed me a bill.  I handed it back to her and told her we didn't need it, that we helped because we wanted to.  She insisted and put it in the stroller.  (It was $20!)

We went on into the store because Reagan was smiling and acting like nothing was wrong.  However, he threw up 4-5 more times while we grabbed enough stuff to hold us over for one night of food.  When we got him home, he continued.  I was really worried because he had never thrown up before (and he rarely spits up).  This was food he'd been fed 5 hours before.  I started wondering if he'd ingested some of the Vaseline I'd been putting on his face to treat his eczema, so I called poison control.  The woman on the other end assured me that he would have to consume a large quantity to be poisoned and that he would've had diarrhea from it instead of throwing up.

Our poor little boy continued throwing up for another hour, 15-20 minutes of which we were on the phone with an after hours nurse from our pediatrician's office.  I kept telling her he was only upset while throwing up, but laughing and playful the rest of the time.  Much laughter ensued when she instructed us to check his temperature in a way we'd never checked it before.  I tried to get out of it by telling her our thermometer was for under the arm and she told me it could be used this other way.  Reagan was such a good boy and cooperated better than I expected.  I tried to nurse him to sleep, but he got sick again--on my side of the bed.  (Convenient time for our washing machine to be broken...)  After cleaning myself and changing his clothes for the 4th time, I put him down in the pack 'n play next to our bed to listen for any other sickness.  He slept like a champ!

He woke up this morning, nursed, went back to sleep, and then I had to wake him up to get dressed and leave for his doctor's appointment.  He weighed in at 19 lbs., 2.6 oz. and measured 26 3/4" (a little over 1 lb gain and 3/4" growth since his last appointment Dec. 10th).  This means he only has 2 lbs., 13.4 oz. left in his current car seat (or 2 1/4"), whichever comes first.  The appointment was made to check on his eczema and come up with something to help with the itching.  The doctor said we can put 1% hydrocortizone cream for the itching (sparingly, to avoid thinning his skin), double antibiotic ointment to help heal the open wound from him scratching, and Eucerin to keep it moisturized.  Let's hope it works!  I told her about the previous night's events and she said to keep an eye on him, but that it sounded like something had just upset his stomach.  She also said he was very alert and observant and she was surprised by how well he paid attention to her.  She also said he was the happiest baby she'd ever met and that she had to leave before she tried to steal him. :)  I love my boy and am so happy that he's okay!

Growing Pains

Our little guy is getting bigger and bigger every day and I'M the one suffering from growing pains (physically and emotionally). I haven't cried yet, but I know those tears are on their way!

Reagan had his 4 month check-up Friday afternoon. He weighed in at 18 lbs., 1.3 oz. (82nd percentile) and was 26 inches long (72nd percentile). Dr. McCormick and Dr. Bhavsar were both so complimentary of his attractive looks (haha), friendly personality, alertness, and his fabulous growth completely on breast milk. They gave him his 3rd book (he gets one for every well check-up appointment, which I think is awesome) and we discussed his little patches of eczema on his face, as well as when to start feeding him solids. For the eczema, I'm supposed to hydrate it daily with Vaseline (which I've been doing) and he should grow out of it sometime. It's apparently a very common thing. The food part makes me sad. I've been enjoying the freeness, convenience, cleanliness, and did I mention FREEness??? of only breastfeeding him... especially since he's had more than adequate growth and has had no sickness since birth (gotta love those antibodies), but apparently he needs more iron than I can provide him with now. We've been told to start him on rice cereal 1-2 times a day, and then fruits and veggies (pureed) after he gets that down. First time with rice cereal was tonight, and he LOVED it! I had to pry gently remove the spoon out of his little hands a few times because he wanted to be in control.

Teething on his vibrating strawberry while waiting for the doc.

Post-shots.  Drowsy and ready to go home.  Only cried for 5 minutes!

A few little things he's doing now...
Rolling (front to back was FINALLY accomplished about 2 weeks ago)! He rolls EVERYWHERE. It's his fun mode of transportation... and he can go from one side of the room to the other by simply rolling. He's our little Roly Poly. :)

Jumping (SUPER high) in his Jumperoo. I'm fairly certain the kid would blast off into outer space if the thing wasn't tethered down.

Giggling at his sweet big sister Rubix, his daddy, and sometimes his momma. I've told Richard that Reagan has already figured out our roles as parents. I'm the nurturer and Richard and Rubix are here for entertainment!

Grunting to indicate his dislike for something (or simply to show he knows how to make the noise).

We love our little man and can't wait to see all the fun things he has in store for us! (We'll shed some tears along the way, I'm sure, but it's well worth it to see him grow up!)

First "solid" food.

Have Baby, Will Travel

Before Reagan's arrival, many people told us, "Having a baby will change EVERYTHING!" "Get your SLEEP before the baby comes!" "Things are so much easier with the baby INSIDE of you." Yaddah, yaddah, yaddah... So far, having the baby hasn't changed EVERYTHING or totally interrupted our sleep. However, we realized this past weekend that traveling was MUCH different than when he was in-utero!

Richard's office gave him his birthday (Thursday, November 4th) off, so he took the following Friday off and we made it a long weekend. Thursday we went to the zoo because he'd never been before, he got free admission for his birthday and Reagan was free. We only had to pay for me! Unfortunately, it rained. We were able to stay for about an hour, but then it started to pour and the baby got cranky, so we left.

Here are a few photos we snapped while there:

The stroller ended up getting soaked through, but he lasted a while before getting upset.


Intent on NOT smiling with Daddy in front of some mixed monkey exhibit.


Silly boy loves riding in the carrier with his Momma!


Thursday evening we went out with the Clarkfam for dinner at a burger joint where it's hip to be square. Richard got a free cupcake and we had a good time.

Friday we headed down to Miami for the night so we could visit the Coral Castle, which Richard had dreamed of visiting for many moons. What should have been a 4.5 hour trip turned into a 5.5 hour trip because of a little boy who cried wolf from the back seat. "Crying wolf" in this case meant that he screamed his little head off, making us think something was truly wrong, when in fact, he was just in need of a good stretch. The only song that could calm him down was "When and Who and What did he do?", a children's Bible song about Genesis 1:1 we learned on this CD.We stopped at a Cracker Barrel on the way down, bought a bluegrass CD, and let Reagan dance in the car for a while. He LOVED it! We eventually got to Miami and checked into our hotel. It was sweeeeeeeet and we got a good deal on it!

Enjoying the luxurious accommodations with Daddy.


Thinking about Cuban food with Momma.


Making sure nobody separates him from his beloved wiggly bird.


The night in the hotel was comfortable for us, but our poor little guy was up every 2 hours because of a combination of whatever I ate (tasted great, but the flavor stuck around for a while and my tummy was upset) at the Cuban restaurant that night, it was unseasonably cold, and he wasn't at home in his own bed (pack 'n plays are no substitute for a crib)! Thankfully, Richard had the sense to suggest and ensure that we brought the swing, our saving grace! We were eventually able to get him to rest for about 3-4 hours straight in that and woke up with only an hour to get ready, pack our things, and check out before getting charged a late fee. We ended up going slightly over the time, but the staff thought Reagan was so sweet they didn't seem to care! As Richard says, we got the "Cute Baby Discount".

The Coral Castle was interesting. It was Richard's special birthday trip and he was giddy, snapping pictures right and left. I won't make a detailed post on the actual castle because you can read about it at the website I liked above. Here is our family there. It was chilly and Reagan wasn't thrilled about the amount of layers he was in because he had more trouble bending his elbows, thus his face. (I'm sure he'll enjoy our trip up north for Thanksgiving in 2 weeks!) I had to bump up the color so you could see us better since we were in the shade. All those things behind us are the sculptures a 5' tall, 100 lb. guy built on his own out of coral for his lady who lived back in Latvia. A little creepy? Yes. A little romantic? Maybe. Explainable? Not really.


Our trip back ended up taking over 6 hours because of stops to feed ourselves, the baby, stretch, and do a little outlet mall shopping to get Richard a new pair of RED shoes, believe it or not! "When and Who and What did he do?" stopped working on the long ride home, so I ended up in the back seat showing Reagan clips from Yo Gabba Gabba on Youtube, using Richard's iPhone! Thank you, Apple! He especially liked this one.

And that was our trip! Sunday we went to Richard's favorite burger joint with a bunch of friends, and then we were back to life as usual. The electricity has been acting faulty, so we got it checked out. Over $600 to repair our messed up meter box. Stinks, yes, but hopefully it will save us money on electricity since we were operating on only 1 of our 2 wires coming into the house. (And if we hadn't caught it sooner, we could have had a burnt down house! YIKES!)

Reagan's started teething, we think, and wants to gnaw on everything in sight. We've started giving him an ice cube in a mesh thing meant for making solid foods more baby friendly sized. He's learning how to use it and seems to like it. However, he does NOT want us helping him hold it! He's an independent 3.5 month old!


And here is one final picture. Our happy boy with his toys!