We've Got a Big Boy On Our Hands!!!

**Weight Update** My son now weights a whopping 17lbs and 11 ounces! WOW! Last time we went to the doctor (2 months ago) he weighed in at 11 lbs 11 ounces....I think! Sheesh I guess I should write this stuff down somewhere! :) LJ also got two shots and luckily didn't have much of a fever this time around. But he was slightly irritable the rest of the evening yesterday so we put him to bed a little early.

Anyway, my Mom and I were both shocked with his weight gain. LJ is now bigger than 90% of infants his age. But the height department is not so great. He's about 25 inches long....about 25% longer than infants his age. So my lil man still has some growing to do but all in all he's healthy and to me that's all that matters.

So Halloween came and went so fast. Hubs and I wanted to do something for LJ but we thought he was a bit young and it was too cold to take him anywhere. I of course wanted to do the whole pumpkin patch and pumpkin carving, but in the end we settled for just doing some pictures of him in his costume. He of course was a little plump pumpkin! :D *pictures coming soon* LJ did pretty good with the portrait folks at JCPenny but he is a baby so as soon as we were finished he feel right to sleep. LOL.

I was so impressed with the JCPenny that I decided to book our family portraits there for the Christmas holiday. Of course we'll be taking those pictures early to avoid the crowd and to ensure that the Christmas cards are on time! :)

Okay so I have a couple of items for review:

The Bumbo:

So I got mixed reviews on this item which is why it was not on our registry. However, my BFF decided it was a must have so purchased one for LJ anyway. The premise of it is neat...infant gets to sit up and see the world as we see it. BUT LJ will only stay in the Bumbo for about five minutes. Not sure if he gets tired or annoyed but he'll start to lean to the side and then cry. Also, his little legs have gotten so chubby that he can barely get in the Bumbo now. All and all I don't think it's worth the $40.00. Now if someone gives it to you, definitely try it out....but don't run to the store or amazon and get one.

Sophie La Giraffe

Love, love, LOVE this thing! So as stated a while back LJ started pre-teething...basically he drooled so much that we had to start putting bibs on him. Now, he's spitting (Mommy hates this) and I can see the bottom two teeth trying to push through. Now we've tried our share of teething rings but either he couldn't grip them or they were too cold or too hard. This always resulted in a crying baby. So one of my sorority sisters suggest Sophie. After looking at Sophie I was not convinced...it literally looks like a chew toy for a dog and I should know because we have two dogs. LOL. However, my Mom wanted something as she keeps him during the day and noticed that he was getting very fussy because of his sore gums. We do have oral gel but that only lasts a few minutes and we didn't want to inundate him with it so I broke down and got Sophie. BEST DECISION EVER! LJ loves this thing! He loves that it makes noise, its easier for him to grab onto and literally he can chew or gnaw any part of Sophie! So I HIGHLY recommend Sophie for teething or even pre-teething babies.

Anyway I guess that's it for now. I'll be back to post some of those Halloween pics! Oh and I'll also post 1-4 month pictures!

Also Moms who print photos: check out and join Shutterfly and Snapfish they have some great deals on prints and other items for the holidays.

Privacy Please?!

What up...its been a long time. I've been blogging over at my Mommy Blog. Check it out!

So I was minding my own business this morning when I came across an email from my LS (*waving to HE Fall 03*) and I was really taken a back to what I read! Basically she informed me that someone has loc envy with slightly stalker-ish tendencies.

I clicked on the link to find this woman who showered me with nothing but compliments about my locs. She had obtained an engagement photo of me and my hubby from a newspaper article. We were featured in the Express BIO in 2010. Anyway, I was very flattered and yes I'm not going to lie the ego did boost about 10 points, but what disturbed me was the fact that she saw some of my wedding photos!

YES I posted some photos on FB but I make sure that only friends can see photos and NO ONE sees tagged photos of me. So first its weird that she went out of her way to search for me on FB and then found a loop hole to see my wedding pictures.

So this got me the thinking....can you really truly have privacy in the world we live in? Will you be subject to sharing the most intimate moments of you life? Not cool!

Effective immediately I will be taking down any pictures I have up of my lil guy. Also, I will be double checking my privacy settings on FB and I may even *gasp* leave all together. I'm sorry, its one thing to put things out there for people to see but its another when total strangers have access to your life.

I feel violated! :(

What's Truly Best For Your Baby..?

So in my last blog entry I attempted to solicit help because my little guy was not getting enough sleep and of course neither were my husband and I.

Thankfully my daycare provider (my mommy) noticed this same thing during the day and decided to try to put LJ on his tummy for naps. Eureka! It worked like a charm and LJ has been a tummy baby ever since.

Of course I was worried and started Googling and reading and the bottom line is infants should sleep on their backs; this helps prevent SIDS. So, after reading I was terrified and almost went back to putting LJ on his back but decided to speak with some friends who recently had children. Both told me that their babies slept on their tummies too after a while. They concurred that both of their boys slept better this way.

Well, after talking it over w/ the hubs, we decided that we have to do what's best for our child. Obviously getting more rest is beneficial to him and us quite frankly. Besides now that he rolls (well actually he's been rolling since he was about 2 months) he didn't really sleep on his back anyway. Once babies begin to roll they will always roll to where they feel comfortable.

Further, more research has to be done on SIDS. It's a terrible and horrible thing to not know or understand what causes SIDS babies to stop breathing. My heart goes out to every parent who has had to deal with this. I just personally think that for us, we will go with what WE think is best for our child. There are all kinds of studies out there and some contradict others so its important to do your research.....YES! But you have to put said research into perspective and then make an informed decision and that's what we did.

Oh by the way LJ is 4 months old! He's trying to sit up now...he thinks he's so grown! LOL!

Clueless

So its been a while...*Hello All* or should I say "few" as that's how many people actually read my blog. Anyway....

LJ is wreaking havoc on my sleeping...hubby sleeps just fine though...LOL (not really). This little boy can't make up his mind as to weather or not he wants to sleep all night. The first few weeks of his young life he slept thought the night, which was truly a blessing. Then little by little he started waking up once around 4-5 am...again..not too bad. However, as of late, we're lucky if we can get him to sleep in his crib. That baby is good at playing possum. You put him down thinking he's asleep and not even 5 minutes later he's up smiling or screaming. *Sigh* In an effort to get some sort of sleep he gets tucked into the bed with me. Bad habit I know but what else is a Mom to do? *Suggestions Please!!!!*

Oh did I mention today is my second day back at the job??? It's okay but of course I'd rather be at home with my little guy. But in this crap economy we definitely need the duel income. Maybe I should play the lotto :) I could really use 41 million....LOL!

Work is work. I'm just here for my family and that's what keeps me showing up here, on time, ready to get things done. I know better things are on the horizon for me and mine, just gotta hang in there and have faith.

Few, Far and In Between

Few, far and in between pretty much sums up the amount of time I have to clean the house, sleep, apply for a new job, blog, cook...well you get the point. However, while many things are being neglected I can't say I regret it. I love spending time with L.J. he smiles a lot more now and every time he does it, its like I'm seeing his smile for the first time. It absolutely melts my heart!



I can't help but wish my maternity leave wasn't coming to an end. I have six more weeks until I go back to work! YIKES! I was actually hoping to not go back to my current employer. But again...few far and in between....describes the amount of jobs in my field...*sigh* Needless to say I feel blessed to still have a job but I can't help but want more for myself and my family. Oh well what can I say I knew my maternity leave would have to come to an end at some point so for now I guess I'll just enjoy the rest of it and try to keep my mind off of work.



So another thing that is few, far and in between is the amount of time I have to pump! Between trying to keep up with L.J. and how often he wants to eat and attempting to suck it up and pump...yikes! I have like zero supply for him for when I return to work. Ugh! At this point I feel like I should be producing at least 3-4 bags a day. Currently I'm only able to do one....hopefully I can figure something out soon or he'll be getting formula while I'm at work and only getting breastmilk when I'm at home. Of course I know breast is best so I'm going to try my hardest to get to pumping.



Welp, duty calls! Sounds like lil man is waking up...*sigh* oh well at least I got a small break :)

4 Weeks (1 Month) Old!

L.J.'s doctor's appointment last Friday went well! He weighed a whopping 8lbs and 10 oz.! Gaining weight fast and getting a pop belly! :) His face turned bright red and starting screaming when he got his second Hep B shot. I of course being the protective Mama wanted to punch the nurse in the face but it wasn't her fault....so instead of raising my fist I attempted to comfort an upset, red-faced L.J. :(

L.J.'s next doctor's appointment will be when he's 2 months old. Unfortunately he will get two shots :( I'm not sure how I'm going to handle seeing my baby be in double the pain...sigh! Maybe I'll leave the room and let his father handle it. LOL!

Oh and did I mention L.J. sleeps through the night! Yup! He's been doing it for a while but he was inconsistent. Now L.J. goes to bed between 10:30 and 11:30 and sleeps until about 5:30 or 6. Unfortunately a lot of times he doesn't sleep well during the day which wouldn't be so bad but he cries non-stop sometimes because he's sleepy...poor baby! Oh well and this too shall pass :) Right now I'll just be thankful for being able to sleep through the night :D

Almost 1 Month Later....

Mommyhood is kicking my butt! But I must be honest...I love every minute of it...well not every minute. I must admit that the moments that are not so great definitely happen but I always look back on them and laugh. I'm truly thankful and blessed to be a mother to such a wonderful, curious and sweet baby.

Okay here is my list (so far) of must-have's from one new Mama to another:

Graco duo 2-n-1 baby swing (pictured to the left)
Keep it Kleen pacifier (also pictured to the left)
Munchkin/Arm n Hammer Diaper pail (truly a lifesaver)
Boppy
Aden and Anais muslin wrap blankets (LOVE these)

Of course this is just my list so far...I'll be sure to add to it as my little one grows and I start using various nick knacks and gadgets. But I can't say enough about that Graco swing. It is a total life saver!!! When L.J. gets fussy or gassy I put him in this swing and he can't help but eventually settling down and going to sleep. The swing plays classical music as well as nature sounds; it has a timer and of course various swing settings ranging from 1-6 (6 being a very high swing). Additionally, the seat of the swing detaches and becomes a bouncer. Yesterday this came in handy because L.J. was just not feeling it and so I took the seat out (very easy) and put him on top of the bed and just bounced the seat until he feel asleep. Now I'm not trying to sound like a sales person, nor is Graco paying me for this excellent sales pitch (lol) but this swing was the best decision ever!

Now as for the pacifier...well it closes when it falls on the ground so you don't need to rinse it off. Really though, just be sure to get your newborn a pacifier...otherwise they will use YOU as their pacifier (if you're breastfeeding). L.J. is sometimey when it comes to taking it. I'm going to try a Nuk pacifier and see if he likes that...if not we've run out of options and brands! LOL!

Diaper pails are a personal preference but the one I have is easy to change and I have yet to smell a smelly diaper. I was a little displeased because you can't purchase the refills in a wholesale store like Costco, Sam's or B.J.'s (unlike the diaper genie refills) but Babies R Us has them on sale quite frequently so I just stock up at that time.

The Boppy I could do without at this point since L.J. and I have our breastfeeding positions down but I've noticed that the heavier he gets the more my carpal tunnel in both of my wrists begins to act up so I'm back to the boppy. Unfortunately I can't take it out with me but I guess I'll just have to get some braces for my wrists :(

Aden and Anais blankets are awesome! They are perfect for swaddling (L.J. hated being swaddled...he always managed to get his arms out...lol) and for going out when you want to protect your little one from the sun or germs. On top of that the blankets are sooooo soft! I absolutely love them! They were not on any of my registries but someone purchased them for us and I'm so glad they did! Awesome blankets!

Anyway....I can't believe a month ago today at this time I was in serious labor pain and got sent home only to go back to the hospital and have my little guy on the date of my scheduled induction! L.J. has his one month doctor's appointment tomorrow. Unfortunately he has to get a shot and I know he's just going to cry his little eyes out *sigh* oh well. It must be done :)

Welp guess I better attempt to keep L.J. on somewhat of a schedule....time to eat!