Yay for sleep!

Michael slept from 11pm last night to 7am this morning only waking up once around 2:30am to eat! He seemed to sleep so peacefully too without all his usual grunting, groaning and crazy movements. I'm so glad he was comfortable! YAY!!!

1 month appointment

Michael had his one month appointment today. He is definitely growing and overall is doing well. The pediatrician put him on medicine as he has been displaying a lot of the symptoms that go along with reflux. We hope this takes away some of his discomfort...poor little guy. The following are his stats as of today (compared to the birth stats):

Birth

weight - 8 lbs, 15 oz.
length - 21.5 inches
head - 15 inches

1 month

weight - 10 lbs, 5.5 oz. (75th percentile)
length - 23 inches (90th percentile)
head - 15.5 inches (75th percentile)

4 weeks old!

"Thanks for the blankie Aunt Lilian!!"

The shirt says "Nothing's wrong, just testing you!"

Look at the sides of my hair....it looks somewhat red!

I know it seems like child abuse to force our son to be an Orioles' fan!

Michael is 4 weeks old today! I know we will be saying this a lot, but it seems like just yesterday when he was born!

Easter Picture

Michael's first Easter was spent down in Maryland visiting family. It was a packed weekend with lots of family time. Michael did very well on both the drive there and the drive home. He seems to like to travel as much as mommy and daddy do....good thing! He also met his great grandparents on hid daddy's side for the first time, which he was excited about. We also celebrated his cousin, Jonathan's birthday this weekend. After the weekend and a night of eating every hour (from 8:30pm-1:30am) last night, the three of us are exhausted and trying to recover. He is apparently going through a growth spurt right now. Our little boy will be one month tomorrow already....time flies so quickly!

Easter Weekend

3 weeks old

"Hmmm....let me think about that!"

"Seriously mommy?! Enough pictures!!!"

Michael and Mommy were dancing while watching Ellen.
*Notice Michael's hands...breaking out the dance moves.

Michael is 3 weeks old today and oh so cute! Here are a few pictures from today. He is already developing his own little personality as you can see.

Mommy and Michael Bake!

We had a few very ripe bananas not being used so I decided to make a loaf of banana bread from this awesome cookbook for moms! Michael started off in the bouncy seat but quickly became fussy as I started pulling ingredients from the cabinet. I came out into the living room and caught a glimpse of our Jeep Front Carrier and decided to give it a try. As soon as I put Michael in it he was asleep! So, we made banana bread together (ok, I made it while he slept). Jason came home as we were finishing so he took pictures of the two of us. Success number three for the week! Numbers 1 & 2 were getting to two doctor's appointments (yesterday AM and this AM) after feeding Michael, getting myself ready, and getting him ready...we were even a few minutes early.

Excited for more adventures!!

Michael loves tummy time!!!

Zoolander resemblance?

Ok, so this picture of Michael doesn't show the exact Zoolander face. But, he makes the same face as Zoolander and his hair is definitely spiky like his! It's hilarious!!! At least we think so....but we are sleep deprived parents so we laugh at just about anything :-).

2 weeks old and changing so much!

Daddy time!

Mommy love!

Despite the look, Michael loves being swaddled!

This onesie (says "irresistible") was the one article of clothing we bought when I was pregnant (we figured it would be good for a boy or a girl).

Michael's hair color is lightening especially on the sides. The color is starting to look strawberry blonde and getting lighter.

Daddy and Michael sleep time!

Daddy and Michael Sunday Nap!!!

Daddy and Michael Sunday Morning!

Grandma left!

After being here since the beginning of February (once I was put on bedrest), my mom left to go home. Jason, Michael, and I were sad to see her go as it had been the most time we had spent with her in a long time. She was beyond helpful and went above and beyond anything we could have asked of her. She was also amazing during the birth of Michael! Having her, Jason, and the nurse there provided an abundance of encouragement. They made me think I was an expert at delivery :-). Thanks Mom/Grandma!

Mommy's Birthday

Thursday night I asked Michael to sleep well that night as my birthday gift and he listened! He slept 3 hours and then close to 5 hours. What a thoughtful and sweet little boy :-)!

Daddy's Boy

"Mmmm mommy kisses!"

"I am just way too cute for my own good!"

"My jeans are definitely too big!"

"I love Daddy time each night!"

One week old!!!

Michael is one week old today and still so cute! This picture was taken on Sunday by Aunt Ashley. He likes to sleep with his hand on his face which I call his pensive face. His great-grandmother (on my side) said that he is already a thinker like his daddy. Wow are we in for a heap of trouble if that's true :-). He also pulls at anything that gets close to his neck (i.e. - a onesie or his swaddle me blanket). When he was born he came out with his cord around his neck and his hand was in between his neck and the cord (which is why we think he pulls at things on his neck). It was as if he was trying to save his own life. His heart rate dropped several times during labor because of this (we didn't know why at the time) and they had to give me oxygen. They also talked seriously about doing a c-section due to his heart rate and my blood pressure (which got really high many times). Thank you all for your prayers though because the labor was pretty quick for being my first and I only pushed 43 minutes AND I didn't have a c-section.

We have already had several appointments since being discharged on Friday afternoon. My blood pressure was still elevated at discharge so they had a visiting nurse come to the house Saturday in addition to an appt. with my OB on Monday and an appt. with my general practicioner yesterday. Craziness! They put me on medication for the blood pressure hoping that it will go down and within weeks I may be taken off of the medication. I also had an EKG and bloodwork, then an appt. next Wednesday for an echocardiogram. They are just checking things out to make sure everything is in good condition. So far, everything is fine it's just my blood pressure that is acting goofy.

Michael had his first pediatrician appt. on Monday right after my appt. He is a very healthy little boy. He is 95 percentile for his length, 90 percentile for his head, and 75 percentile for his weight. He had actually lost a little more weight than he should have. So we have to go back on Friday for a weight check to make sure he is gaining weight. I have strict instructions to wake him up every two hours during the day to eat. Who ever said "Don't wake a sleeping baby"?

As far as sleep goes he slept for a 5 hour chunk our first night home which was nice but didn't last. Then we had a rough night on Sunday, waking up in 30 minute increments at times. We think it was due to me eating broccoli and causing him gas (oops!). Then last night he gave us a 4.5 hour block of sleep...woo hoo! I won't expect it, but it sure was nice! It felt almost as if I slept 9 hours after the previous few nights :)!

Thank you all for your cards, emails, phone calls, and especially your prayers! We are very thankful for all your encouragement!! I will try to return emails soon....I think :).