You win some, you lose some

Tuesday's naps and night sleeping: Spectacular!

Wednesday's naps and night sleeping: Boo! Not so spectacular.

It seems naps and nighttime are a good time to practice the new skills we are learning.

It's all new!

Will is really learning new things everyday! It's so amazing to see him discovering the world, his home, and himself for the first time. Here are a few of his new accomplishments:

*He is making all kinds of crazy noises now- gurgles, squeals, and "squeaps" (it's what I call them).

*Clasping hands together

*Can push pacifier back into mouth sometimes

*Can balance for about 5 seconds sitting up if he's holding something besides me

*Lifting his butt off the floor using his feet

*Getting better at intentionally grabbing objects

*Taking longer naps- hooray!

*Pushes button on crib toy to turn it on! (it takes a few tries though)

Sitting all alone for the first time! He has to hold on of course, but this proud mama counts it!
Just look at all that junk piled on my bed! Yikes, if I weren't so eager to show off my cute boy I might be embarassed!
Holding his bottle.. well balancing it anyway. Again, I count it!

This is what he keeps doing all the time now, using one hand to put the other into his mouth.

I'm sure there are more things he's doing, but those are the big ones.

ALSO..... Guess what baby slept almost a whole night last night? MINE! He went to bed at 8:30, woke up at 4:30 to eat, and then slept until 7:30! I am so excited. I attribute to sleeping on his tummy though. It still scares me a little, so even though I should be getting some great consecutive hours of sleep, I'm not because I'm constantly getting up to check on him. Naps have been super the past few days too- lasting anywhere from 1-2 hours! That's for morning naps anyway, that last nap of the day from 5-7 is a rough one! We just skipped it yesterday and he spent some time walking around the house with Daddy. I'm crossing my fingers for today!

Weekend Wedding

I love these girls!

So this past weekend I was in the wedding of one of my best friends, Melissa. We did end up leaving Will with my Mom and Dad on Friday night. I only cried twice- once in the car and once when we got in bed that night. I am very proud of myself. Anyway, this post will actually not be about the baby. Can you believe that?!

Melissa and Frank Weiss were married at the Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. I had the best time. It's been so long since I've gotten out of the house and just had some fun. I love getting to see my friends and be silly again.

Here are some pics from the weekend. It was VERY hot outside for the rehearsal and wedding, so if my face looks a little sweaty and super red, that is why.

It's not a party without the Robot.
Melissa and me
Liz and me

Melissa and Frank

Me, Melissa, April, and Liz
Bridesmaids

Milk and Sleep

First of all, thank you to all of my friends who commented, emailed, or called to offer advice and encouragement. Breastfeeding has definitely been one of the hardest things I've ever done. I started out truly disliking it and then found myself so upset last week when I thought I might be done.

All that being said, I increased my water intake, my calories eaten, and started pumping an hour after each feeding. I also set my alarm each night to wake up and try to pump while Will was sleeping. Let me just tell you that it kicked back in- with a vengeance! Good grief I think it took me like 10 minutes to pump 10 ounces this weekend. I was at a wedding and had to pump b/c it just wouldn't stop coming! I am very thankful! I was able to make enough to send with Will to my parents' house Friday night and I also have a good store of it in the freezer now. (I'm so sorry for anyone reading this who does not find breast milk fascinating!) The downside is that it can be quite uncomfortable. Nursing mothers know what I'm talking about.

I bought some formula to have on hand too just in case we have any problems again. I am not against formula and will supplement if I have to, I just worry about his little tummy.

Funny milk story: On Friday morning, Steven was going to make some waffles. He got everything out and made a comment about the milk maybe being bad. (Remember that I am not drinking regular milk, but using Rice Dream milk.) Anyway, I told him to just use my milk. He gave me a weird look, so I just said, "Ok, it's not that bad though" and walked off. 5 minutes later he came into the bedroom and said he had just realized that I was not talking about my breast milk! Too funny!

Sleep: Will has started to sleep much better!! He has been taking 45 minute naps still, but has been having longer naps that last anywhere between 1-3 hours! I have found that if I lay him down about 50 minutes after getting him up, he goes down much easier. If I keep him up too long- LOOK OUT! He is ticked when you try to put him down! He fights it so hard, kicking, arching his back, crying, and clawing at whatever his hand hits mid-swing. I'm a little worried I have a fit thrower on my hands.

Here's a couple cute pics from this week:

No Whey!

Today was a pretty rough day as far as being a mommy goes. One success, a few stresses.

My one success today was that Will's spitting up was so much better today. Don't get me wrong, he still spit up, but it wasn't gallons as usual. Yay for Will! This sweet boy needs a break!

Stress 1. Giving up dairy has been really hard for me. I love milk, cheese, etc. You don't know until you can't have dairy that everything has dairy in it somewhere in the form of "whey powder". I went to Central Market yesterday to buy some non-dairy items I need at home to help me be able to cook and eat- Rice Dream (rice milk ice cream), rice milk, Earth Balance non dairy shortening to use as butter, and some organic whole wheat flour so I can bake some homemade bread. Of course what in the world am I going to eat on that bread?! Last night Steven and I ordered pizza. Papa Johns and Little Caesars both have dairy free crust and sauce. It was nice to have pizza, but still depressing that my half had no cheese. I'll take what I can get.

Stress 2. My son will not nap. Or I cannot get him to nap. I honestly don't know what to do. If he were sleeping through the night I wouldn't be so worried, but he isn't. (and that may be stress #2 point A.: not sleeping through the night. It seems like everyone's babies' were by this age and everyone always acts shocked when I say he's not, which makes me feel so inadequate as a mom.) I need some baby napping help. He isn't upset about it, actually is very happy all day. I just know how important sleep is and it upsets me that he isn't getting it.

Stress 3. I'm worried about my milk supply. I think it's "drying up". I've had an awesome supply until now. I don't know if it's a nutrition problem, stress, no sleep, etc. Will is still having diapers and seems happy after eating, but I haven't been able to pump any bottles and usually I can. It's been two days since I have been trying. I needed some bottles for this weekend b/c I'm in a wedding and Will was going to stay with my parents Friday night. Now if I can't send milk I'll have to keep him with me. I'm worried he won't get enough to eat and I'll have to switch to formula. I never thought I'd be sad about not being able to breastfeed anymore, but I guess I'm more attached to it than I thought.

Needless to say, I know all this stressing about these things just makes each of these things worse. If you are a mom and have advice, tidbits, or can share experiences- please do. I'm at a loss for most of this and feel like I'm falling short as a mom.

That's it for my pity party. Hopefully tonight I'll get a couple hours sleep and can start fresh tomorrow. Thank you Lord for new mornings!

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

3 months old!

Hooray! Today is Will's 3 month birthday! Of course, it looks like it should be his 6 month birthday... Anyway, we took a few pics to document this milestone. We are just so in love with this boy.

Also, Steven's parents came to visit this weekend. We cooked them dinner to celebrate their 40th anniversary, which is also today! Will just loves his Mimi and Pa!

Last of all, I am just completely at a loss with what to do about Will's spitting up. It is so much- all the time! The doctor always says it's not as much as I think it is, but I know it's as much as I think it is. I'm not worried about him not gaining weight, obviously the boy is getting food. But it has to be uncomfortable for him. Plus, we are both always wet with spit up. Not fun. I've gone mostly dairy free, but have been advised by a friend that maybe I need to do it completely. Which means I can't have regular bread or just about anything easy and cheap. Oh I miss milk... So we'll see what I can figure out this week.

Steven thinks he's looking pretty rough in this pic, but Will smiling at his daddy is too cute!

Random pics

We haven't done a whole lot in the past few days. Mostly just the usual baby things- eat, play, sleep.. or at least try very hard to. Also, I haven't been able to get many pictures of this boy smiling lately. Once he sees the camera, the smile is gone and the eyes are big! It's so frustrating b/c he's really started smiling all the time now and is usually very happy, but when the camera comes out and flashes- he is just amazed- or very confused. Either way, I get the funniest looks from him.

I just now realized that he only has clothes on in one of these pictures. Thank goodness it's warm enough to go around in a diaper all day. With the way he soaks clothes, we were changing outfits a million times!

Mommy must have said something very funny here. It's just two chins, for now.
If you've never seen a baby comb-over, look no further.
These are the eyes I get almost every time he sees the camera now.
So sweet. Holding his bear, trying to take a nap.
We are doing so much better with tummy time! It doesn't take long for him to spit up and then rub his face in it and then get mad though. Look at the rolls on his arms! Those are State Puff Marshmallow arms!

4th of July

It was Will's first Fourth of July! First swimsuit, first pool time, first fireworks, lots of firsts!

Hangin out with Grandma on the patio.
Look at that tubby belly! (on the baby)
Mom and Dad went to see Star Trek and left Will with the grandparents. Mom still gets a little nervous...
Ready for the pool
Mama and Will sportin' their shades.
What a cutie!
Nap time in the shade with Grandma.
First time in a pool! He didn't seem to mind at all.
The whitest family in America.
Drying out after a short swim.
Waiting to see some fireworks at the Lyle's.
My two favorite men!

For the Grandparents

I know Will's grandparents are needing a picture fix. I didn't get too many today. I also wanted to actually be in a picture with him, so we tried. They aren't necessarily the best shots, he kept scratching me and pulling my hair. I look very unattractive, so focus on the baby!

Thank you Aunt Kendy and Uncle Brian for the adorable flip flops!

Look how big his eyes are from the flash! Too funny!

What a big boy in his baseball cap- getting so big!