Cousins

A few weeks ago, my cousin Meghan had a baby boy - sweet Jordan Reed.  We haven't been able to make it down to Russellville to meet him because I started back to work and the weekends have just been packed full.  Luckily, she and her parents came up this past weekend and the boys got to meet.  Neither was very impressed with the other, but they will have fun together soon!  Holidays are about to get much more interesting!

It's a Beautiul Day

I've been instructed by my friend and trainer, Holland, to get in three cardio sessions week.  Luckily, she said that power walking with the stroller will count!  Last Thursday was a beautiful day, so we broke out our stroller and went for a walk with Aunt Jen.  Hayes wasn't sure what to think about it - he didn't seem to not like it, but he also didn't seem to love it.  I think he was just seeing so much new stuff because he's barely been outside in his short little life!  All winter long, he was only outside for as long as it took to get from the car into wherever we were going.  It won't be long before he loves being outside and I can't wait!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A little luck of the Irish from our sweet boy!  And notice Daddy's green tie - he didn't want to get pinched either!

Bath Time

I just love this picture!  Hayes has not enjoyed bath time too much until last week.  We have a really cool baby bath tub that has a handheld shower head that you can use to rinse your baby off.  We also got this more basic tub at one of our showers, and I had taken it to my mom's house to use there.  It has a built in seat that reclines a little and gives babies who don't sit up yet some support.  It ended up being really hard to bathe Hayes in the tub with the shower feature because it didn't have any support for his little body, which was really slippery when he was all soapy.  Most of the time, I ended up just giving Hayes a sponge bath, but he was starting to get a little big for that.

So I traded my mom and brought the tub with the seat home.  Hayes enjoyed the bath much more!  He was able to kick and splash in the water.  The picture above was taken right after we put him in, and he just looks like he's taking it all in.  I love how he has his little arm propped up on the side of tub!

Oh No! Hayes is Sick!

And this is how he feels about it!  At the end of his first week of daycare, I noticed that he was starting to cough just a little bit.  He kept it up all weekend and started getting a little nasal congestion, so I called our pediatrician's office on Monday morning.  The nurse said that we didn't need to come in unless he had green snot, a fever, or really got congested in his chest.  He didn't have any of those at that point, so we decided to wait it out.

On Wednesday morning, he coughed so hard that he spit up his entire morning feeding it seemed like.  I was holding him at the time, and it went all down my back and into my hair.  Yuck!  I decided at that point that we were going to the doctor that day.  I called and got an appointment.  When I went to feed him at noon, he was just acting like he felt miserable.  By that time, he was wheezing as he breathed, so I was very glad we had an appointment with the doctor for later that afternoon.  Hayes went back to my office with me then and took a little nap while I got a few more hours of work in.

Hayes was diagnosed with a respiratory virus and ear infection.  The doctor said that he had quite a bit of fluid in his ears and did a test where he puffed air into Hayes' ear.  Apparently, that hurts really bad if the ear is infected, and we got quite the reaction when he did Hayes' left ear.  We left with prescriptions for an inhaler and antibiotics.  I was so glad the doctor gave us something for the ear infection, since it wasn't completely full blown yet.  After five days of breathing treatments and ten days of antibiotics, Hayes is all better. 

What an introduction to daycare!  As the doctor said, Hayes' new buddies don't kid around with the germs!

Three Months

At three months, life with Hayes has definitely gotten easier.  We are all getting a little more sleep and Hayes is following a schedule a little better.  His momma and daddy feel more confident about taking care of him.  He is such a happy, sweet boy! 

A little bit about Hayes:

He has started going to daycare, or "school" as we call it.  I think he likes it!

He eats every 3 hours during the day

He sleeps from 8 pm to 6:30 am and wakes up just once to eat

In the mornings, when he wakes up, he'll usually hang out in his crib for a little bit.  When I do go in and get him, I unwrap his swaddler blanket and he just stretches so big.  Then he usually gives me a really cute smile!  I don't think he will be a morning person, since it takes him a little while to get all of his stretching out and he doesn't just pop up with his eyes wide open.

He takes longer naps - usually one hour and a half or two hour nap in the middle of the day with shorter naps in the morning and afternoon.  His naps don't happen on a strict schedule, but they are starting to follow more of a pattern.  At daycare, he naps in his crib or in a bouncy seat, but at home he still likes to nap in his swing, although he will nap in his crib too.  And he takes really long naps when I'm out running errands.

He can sit up in his Bumbo seat

He likes his bouncy seat again and still loves his swing.  I just now figured out that our swing will recline so that he doesn't get all slumped over when he falls asleep in it.  I now feel much better about letting him sleep in it!

He loves his ocean creature playmat - he will lay on it and kick for about 30 minutes at a time.  He is starting to try to reach for the toys that dangle above him.

He enjoys laying on the bed or floor and looking at the ceiling fans and laying on his changing table and looking at his artwork

He still hates tummy time - I don't know how he will ever learn to roll over!

He loves his paci!

He has started making "m" sounds - which I think means that "momma" is coming soon!

He is developing the cutest smile and laugh

He likes to watch the TV.  Terrible, I know!  We try to keep him facing away from it, but if he can see it, his eyes are glued to it.  He does the same thing with the screen on his video monitor.

He is very attentive and engaged.  If we are out somewhere, he wants to be sitting up and looking around.  I feel like he just takes in so much.

Hayes has survived his first illness - a respiratory virus and ear infection.

As a result of being sick, Hayes got an extra surprise trip to the doctor.  I was expecting to have to wait until his 4 month well child visit to get an update on his weight.  He now weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces, which is the 25% percentile.  I think he carries most of his weight in his cute little chubby cheeks and roly-poly thighs!

Hayes is wearing size 1-2 diapers.  He really could still wear a 1, but we buy diapers in big boxes to leave at his school, and there's no way he'll outgrow the size 1-2 before we finish the box.


We love him more and more everyday!

All Through the Night

A couple of weekends ago, Hayes slept through the night - 8 pm until 6:30 am - both nights!  We (well especially his momma) were so excited!  Then he got sick and that was the end of that!  We are now back to getting up just once a night to eat which is not too bad, but I'm hoping that he'll start sleeping all the way through the night again soon!

School Days

My first day back to work was on March 2.  I was so lucky to have twelve weeks off to spend with Hayes.  Although some days were very hard, I loved every minute with him.  I had mixed feelings about going back.  I knew that I would miss Hayes so much, but I was also getting a little bored being at home.  The weather has been so yucky this winter that we were stuck inside a LOT, and I was getting tired of daytime TV!  So, in some ways, I was ready to go back.

I told Trent that he had to go with me the first day to drop Hayes off at school.  I wanted him there for moral support and to help me carry in all of the supplies we were leaving.  I was proud of myself - I didn't cry and the drop-off went smoothly. 

The transition has gone really well.  Hayes always seems content when I go in the classroom.  We love his teachers, Miss Liz, Miss Jessie, and Miss Kelly.  I go feed him at lunchtime everyday, so I've gotten to know them pretty well.  Aunt Kay Kay checks on Hayes everyday when she drops off Ireland, so that makes me feel better too!  I'm also lucky enough to have a very understanding boss who lets me leave a little early - picking him up at 4:30 seems so much better than picking him up at 5:30 - and who doesn't mind if Hayes comes and hangs out in my office sometimes.

Hayes and Mommy on our big day!

Spring Break Snow

We had a huge and unexpected snow storm!  We have had so much snow this winter; I hope we have some good snows next year when Hayes is big enough to have fun in it!  It started snowing on Saturday afternoon and by Sunday morning, we had 10 inches of snow.  Trent and I think it has easily been 20 years since NWA has had that much snow.  It warmed up by Sunday afternoon, and the roads were fairly clear.

Hayes's school had a snow day on Monday, which was totally ridiculous!  The roads were completely dry when I drove into work.  They have had a ton of snow days this year; they close anytime Fayetteville schools close.  It hasn't affected us since I was still on maternity leave, and we're lucky because usually my mom or sister will also be off and able to keep Hayes.  This is such a silly policy - there are no buses involved with a daycare and if parents don't want to drive their kids in and decide to take a snow day from work, that's their choice.  But, the daycare shouldn't make it so difficult for parents with jobs!   

Here are some pictures of the pretty snow!  Unfortunately, I didn't take any until it had started to melt!