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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Heads Up!

My post this week is a bit late and I apologize but we have been busy!  This week Joey has really started to raise his head and keep it up.  His neck muscles have been hard at work this week! 

We also have had a full week of 6 hour stretches at night and (dare I say) the midnight feedings are a thing of the past!  Yesterday was a bit scary with all of the bad weather and tornado warnings.  However I had a huge breakthrough and finally went down to my basement when the sirens went off.  For those of you who know the situation, you can understand how difficult it was for me to finally go down in to my basement.  Thankfully Joey remained asleep the whole time, and Sadie and Trigger just snuggled up next to us on the couch while we waited out the storm. 
This weekend will mark 2 big events for Joey and myself.  He will have his first overnight babysitting stay at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Needless to say I have been pumping up a storm so he can have enough milk for the stay.  I hope it goes well for him and for me.  Also on Sunday my BIG guy will be 2 months old!!!  It is hard to believe he is already 2 months.  Time goes by so quickly. 
I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Questions for the week:
Any suggestions on cute, cheap Baptism invitations???


Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Growth Spurt

I think I am going to invent a special spa package for mothers when babies go through their growth spurts..or maybe just a bottle of wine that is so outstanding and rewarding that a mother can forget that her baby is going through a growth spurt.  Every book and article that I have read about growth spurts give such a quick, nondramatic account of what will take place during a growth spurt.  It usually states that it is around 3 weeks, 6 weeks, (I have blocked out the next one for right now) that the baby will want to feed constantly, and it can last a few days.  UH where is the dramatic part???  The part that states your baby will cry and cry and NOT sleep.  That he will want to feed ALL the time and you will be even more sleep deprived than you already are?  Plus you will worry that maybe it isn't a growth spurt but maybe he is sick?  Or maybe there is something wrong with the baby.  Welcome to Week 7 at the Betz Household!!  Are you getting the picture???  It started Sunday and its Tuesday.....I was so looking forward to posting for this week because from Monday of last week to Saturday Joseph slept 6 hours straight and skipped his midnight feeding.  I was thinking this is it, we are finally starting a nighttime routine.  I can do this.  We made it through the hell of the first month......AND THEN THE GROWTH SPURT!!!!!!!!!!!   Hopefully next week I will have better reports and I don;t have to write the word growth spurt for a LONG time...if another one is coming up please don;t tell me for at least another week. 

Questions for the week:
Is the above described scenario common?
When did you start introducing a rattle?


On a better note, here are some pics of the big guy for the week.......


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Dude, I have fingers and I can make noises....

My mommy FINALLY caught my smile on camera!  More to come I am sure.........
This week my little guy figured out he has some pretty awesome fingers.  He has been jammin' those little suckers in his mouth whenever he can.  Research says to not worry about it at this point.  Babies suck on their fingers to help them self soothe at this age.  In fact, you don't have to worry about it until quite a few months down the road.  He gets very excited when he connects with his fingers and his eyes get extremely big. 
He also has been making a ton of cooing and ahhing noises.  He loves to lay in his crib and look up, kick around, say "ahhh" and coo.  It is getting a lot more fun for me and Mike as he is now responding to us and interacting with us.  This little guy also gave us 2 nights in a row of 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep!!!  WOO HOO!!!!  Unfortunately one of those nights was NOT the night mommy and daddy went out with friends and sat on the Beer Garden.  Oh well........we are totally in love with him anyway.
Finally this week I was able to celebrate my very first Mother's Day.  It was really a great day and I am so lucky and blessed to have Joseph in my life.  I know I will make a lot of mistakes but hopefully I will turn out have as GREAT and FABULOUS as my own mother. 

Questions for the week:
How do you know when he can ride in the stroller without the infant seat?  (I have a GRACO METROLITE and a BOB REVOLUTION JOGGER)
How long do you let your baby play in between feedings and naps so he/she doesn't get too overstimulated?



I am going to call this his "pensive" look!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mommy's Social Scene and the Activity Mat



This past week has been a pretty great one at our house.  Joe is starting to become more alert and awake during the day.  We also made it 4 1/2 hours one night of  uninterrupted sleep!  Joseph really likes his activity mat as well.  He loves to lay down on it and kick his legs, swing his arms, and look around.  Plus, I highly recommend it.  It has all of the colors that research says is great for babies and he loves to look at the (semi obnoxious) light up, sound, bug thingy that hangs down.  The other GREAT thing about it is how you can get it out of the way so quick.  It literally folds and we slide it around the room or under the crib.  It also is not just geared (as far as colors etc...) for a boy, so if we have another child we can use it if the baby is a girl.  Here is a link to it for any moms to be.
http://www.brightstarts.com/p-232-start-your-senses-developmental-activity-gym.aspx



It is even dog friendly!  Trigger loves to relax on the activity mat.

This week also was the first time since I was put on bed rest that I got to enjoy a real night out on the town with friends.  Friday I went to a Royal Wedding Viewing at a friend's house, and Saturday night I hit the town with some friends of ours to go to The Demun Oyster Bar.  It felt great to get out of the House and be with adults.  Plus the grandparents love the time with Joseph.  I am going to make it a definite point to try to get out at least once every weekend, or 3 weekend nights a month, and do something non-kid related.  I already received an email asking if Mike and I wanted to get out this Saturday night...don't mind if we do!  We get to go out with a few friends again and I am soooo looking forward to it. 
Week 5 is leaving me feeling more relaxed and a teensy bit more energized.........BUT the dreaded week 6 is on the way and this when babies reach their crying peaks (or so the experts say).  Stay tuned!