First Sickness

Beau has been a very healthy child. He has not been sick or needed any form of medication until now and he is 6 months old. Last Wednesday night he had a rough time sleeping. He cried off and on all night but we just thought he was not wanting to sleep and we did not go check on him. He is a baby who sleeps all night and will sometimes let out a cry but will go back to sleep and sleeps 12 hours every night. I watched him on our video monitor off and on that night and he would just roll around and cry but fall back asleep. Around 5:30am he was wide awake and so I went to get him out of his bed to change his diaper. He was soaking wet. I checked his temperature and he had 100.7 fever. He felt like he was on fire and his big cheeks were all red. He was fussy and this momma could tell her little man was sick.

I sent an email to my boss, letting her know I would be taking the day off to be with Beau. I got him changed, gave him a bottle and snuggled with him in the recliner most of the morning. Jon went to work and of course checked on us about every hour. He loves his boy and was so worried that he was sick! Beau was very irritable all morning which is not like him at all. He had a horrible runny nose and a bad cough. I gave him some Tylenol which brought his fever down and then he took about a 3 hour nap. I got some things done around the house and did some work from home on my computer so it was a somewhat productive day.

Beau got up from his nap about three hours later and was soaking wet with a fever again. This time the fever was up to 101.8. I called our pediatrician and she said to bring him in to their office around 3pm so they can check him out. RSV is going around which is a horrible virus and they wanted to make sure he did not have that. At the doctor he was fussy and just wanted to be held. They did the RSV test and ruled out RSV, thank goodness. Then they looked in his ears and was diagnosed with his first Ear Infection….boo!

 

We were sent home with the “pink” medicine, also known as Amoxicillan. We had to give it to him twice a day for 10 days and Tylenol every four hours as needed. After leaving the doctor we had to get the medicine filled so I had to take him to Walmart with me which I was not excited about. I needed a few other things at the grocery so Walmart was our best option for knocking out all those things. Beau just sat in the baby seat on the cart and looked around. He was unusually calm but very cooperative. We got the medicine filled in 15 minutes and got my groceries and we were on our way home. That night (Thursday) was the hardest, most tiring night I have ever had. I mean, this was worse than any new born night we had. He was in so much pain with his ears and just cried.

Before he went to bed I got his room “ready.” I put water in his humidifier and got that sucker going. We got an awesome little Vicks Vapor plug-in at the store which will fill the room with the smell of vicks which worked like a charm.

 

He wanted to go to bed around 7pm which is his normal bed time and he could not get comfortable in his crib so we ended up putting him in his hammock. The “hammock” as we call it is his Rock-n-Play bassinet that reclines. This allowed him to lay on his back and not on his ears. The relined position allowed his ears to drain, his nose not to run as much and his cough was much less frequent. I made sure I stayed on top of the Tylenol every four hours to keep the fever down. I ended up sleeping, or napping in our guest room which is right next to his room so I could hear him when he needed me and so Jon could sleep because he had to go to work the next day. By 5am the next morning, this momma was exhausted and decided to get up and make some coffee. Baby boy was still asleep and so I enjoyed my quiet time on the couch. Jon headed off to work and I stayed home because it was my “off” day. I take off every other Friday from work.

Beau woke up feeling much better and was much happier. He was still coughing and had a runny nose but the fever was gone and it stayed gone. The worst was over! Friday, Beau and I stayed around the house. He did not nap at all. I am not sure why because normally he naps for a good 3-4 hours but he was wide awake. That night I was so worn out from all my lack of sleep that I was very thankful that he went to bed around 6:30pm. I crashed on the couch once he was in bed! Jon and I spent that night watching football and relaxing. Bedtime for me was around 8pm and I was perfectly fine with that!

 

Having a sick child really makes your world stop. All I could do is focus on his needs and wanted to make sure he was as comfortable as he could be. It broke my heart to see him hurting. When he was a newborn and would wake up in the middle of the night I would sometimes not be very happy to go in his room to feed him. Mainly b/c I was very sleep deprived and knew that all he wanted was to be fed. When Beau was sick and up all night I had my adrenaline going and did not care if he needed me every hour that night. I was ready with my Tylenol and “suction bulb” in hand! Let me tell you, when a baby cannot blow his nose and has snot dripping down his face, that suction bulb we got in the hospital comes in so handy. He hated it but after it was all over, he could breathe and was happy.

 Saturday, Jon’s parents offered to keep Beau for us so we could get some sleep. They came to get him Saturday morning and returned him on Sunday afternoon. I cannot tell you how grateful we are to have family around to help us. Jon and I got to sleep and get some Christmas shopping done. By Sunday afternoon, Beau was back home and feeling much better. Life is back to normal!

 

Winter Family Pictures

This year I was determined to make sure we got some good family pictures of the three of us. We lined up our favorite photographer, April Stanely, and headed out to a local Christmas Tree Farm. It was so cold that day and the winds were so strong but the pictures turned out great. Beau was very happy during the entire session and really cooperated better than we thought he would. Here are a few of my favorites:

 

Special Holiday Ornament

This year I was bound and determined to make some ornaments with Beau’s hand and footprints on them. I have always been a big Pinterest fan and about a year ago I found a recipe for Salt Dough Ornaments that I could not wait to make with my child. So last week I got back on Pinterest and found the recipe that I was going to make and made my shopping list for Hobby Lobby. I was so excited about my holiday project. I gathered everything I needed and took it all down to Daphne with me so mom could help me make the special ornaments. I figured it would take two people to hold Beau and place Beau’s hand or foot in the correct spot on the dough. We mixed all the ingredients up, cut out our circles, put Beaus hand/foot prints on them, got flour everywhere and all over us,  baked them on 350 for 40 minutes and of course a disaster had to happen on our first attempt.  Like I said earlier, I love Pinterest but some of their recipes and craft projects do not turn out the way the picture says that they will. Our poor little circles puffed up, turned brown and there was no sign of a hand or footprint anywhere. We were bummed that our project failed but I was determined to make it work another time. A week later I decided it was time for round 2! This time I did a little research online on how to make these ornaments and there are about 100 recipes on how to make them and none are the same. I decided to put my cooking skills to the test and mix the recipes together and make my own. I was all by myself this time so I had to really plan out each step and make sure Beau was happily fed before starting the process. I put Beau next to me in his high chair.

 

I mixed up the dough, rolled it out with a rolling pin, cut out each circle and then it was time for the hand/foot printing. I had no idea how Beau would react but he surprised me! He loved having his hand print and foot print taken! The circles came out perfect! I decided to put them in the oven on 200 for 20 minutes to get the process started and then let them air dry for the rest of time until they were hard. This has worked like a charm!

 Recipe if you are interested:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup salt

1 ½ cup water *pour slowly and a little at a time b/c it might take more or less

 Mix the ingredients together and add water slowly in a big bowl. Once combined, flour your surface and knead the dough together until smooth. Take a rolling pin and roll out the dough until it is around 1/8 inch thickness. Cut out the desired shape with cookie cutters and then place on baking sheet. Use a straw to poke a hole for the string. Bake on 200 degrees for 20 minutes and then allow to air dry on the baking sheet until hard. Pain with acrylic paint and you can also write on the back with a permanent marker if desired. Coat the entire ornament with polyurethane to seal. Tie a string or ribbon through the hold and hang on the tree.

 

  plan on doing this every year with Beau. I think homemade ornaments are so special!

 Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving

The holiday season is starting off to be fabulous. Jon and I packed the car and loaded up Beau for a long drive to Daphne on Wednesday night. This year we planned on spending Thanksgiving down in Daphne and it was a blast. The traffic heading down on 65 south was horrible because I think everyone had the same idea as we did and left after work. Beau slept off and on the entire way which was so nice. He hardly cried at all. We arrived at my parents’ house at 10:30pm which really was not bad at all considering how slow we had to drive.

 

Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) we slept in until 8am and then enjoyed a long morning of catching up with my parents while in our PJ’s. They could not get over how much Beau has grown up in only a six weeks’ time and how much more he is doing. They loved how much he was smiling, laughing, sitting up, eating solid foods and interacting with people. He was such a joy! We had our Thanksgiving dinner around 12:30pm and my brother joined us for that. After dinner, we loaded up Matt’s truck and went hunting. My parents kept Beau for us and enjoyed their alone time with him. They could not get over how easy of a baby he is. They played with him on the floor, watched him jump in his Jump-Jump, gave him a good bath in the sink and just loved on him. He really soaked up all the attention he was getting and loved every second. We did not see any deer but had a great time just being outside.

 

 Friday was our last full day there so we had to pack everything in that we could. I helped my dad do a little shopping while Jon took Lilly to get groomed and had lunch with his brother. That afternoon I helped mom decorate her house while Jon took a nap and dad messed around outside with the jeep. Matt had to plow some dove fields with his friends so he spent the day on a tractor but he came for dinner later that evening. I helped mom wrap some gifts and just enjoyed our time together. We had a super busy weekend but it was really fun all being together again. Jon had to work on Sunday so we left on Saturday morning. We were in a time crunch because he wanted to get back home in time for the Iron Bowl which started at 2:30pm. There was no traffic going back so that made for an easy trip. Beau slept off and on again so that made our car ride pretty enjoyable.

 

We arrived home in time for the big game and man it was a game! Jon is an Auburn fan and I am an Alabama fan so our house was full of nervousness and excitement the entire time. Auburn had a great game and won which was well deserved! Sunday rolled around and it was a lazy day for B and I while Jon worked. I took B to Walmart where he sat in the grocery cart for the first time. He loved it and just enjoyed looking around at all the people. We got some stuff for dinner and then picked up a Christmas tree on the way home from a local tree stand. Next year we plan on going to a farm to cut down our own tree but this year with going out of town and Jon working we had to just go get one. The nice guys at the stand put the tree on top of my car which made it an easy pick-up.

 

Once Jon got home from work he helped me set up the tree and put the final decorations around the house. I love this time of year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Everyone seems to be a magical spirit and the anticipation of the Christmas holidays is something special. I love all the holidays’ movies on TV and all the decorations and Christmas lights everywhere. This holiday is super special to us now that Beau is here so we are excited to sit back and just enjoy it!

Happy Holidays!

 

Thankful Hearts

This Thanksgiving has an extra special meaning. Jon and I have a beautiful baby boy who is the spark to our joy and who lights up our entire world. We can honestly say that we have everything we could ever imagine and are thankful to have such a wonderful life. We have a healthy child, two sets of very supportive parents, wonderful grandparents for Beau, fabulous aunts and uncles, a loving marriage, a beautiful home, cars to get us around town, wonderful jobs that we both love, a great group of friends, a loyal dog and a life full of new adventures every day. Jon and I were talking the other night about how our life has changed so much over the three years that we have been married. God has a plan and He is constantly in control. Sometimes we let the fears and anxiety of the world take over which always brings negativity into our hearts. Jon and I have learned to let go, which can be very difficult and allow things just to happen. No, our life is not perfect but we could not ask for more.

We are approaching the holiday season with open hearts and we are not letting any negativity spoil our first Christmas with our baby boy. We are excited to spend time with our families but we are also excited to spend a little quiet time with just the three of us.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and make sure to focus on the things in life that you are thankful for. Life is short so we need to make the best out of each moment!

 

Family Photo Shoot Preview

This past weekend we met with our favorite photographer at a local Christmas Tree farm to take some family photos. We always send out Christmas cards with our pictures on them and this year I wanted to make them extra special because it is Beau's first Christmas. Here is a sneak peek. More to come in a week or so.....

The Scary Bear

I took this video one afternoon while I was playing with Beau. He has a white bear that tell nursery rhymes that he really enjoys so I thought he would like this tan bear just the same.

 

The response I got was priceless b/c he has never cried like this before. The bear has now found a new home!

 

6 Months Old

Time could not be going by any faster. Jon and I remember getting ready for Beau’s arrival and now he is a half a year old already. Our lives have been forever changed and in the best way of course! This month has been full of fun milestones which is always so much fun to see.

We just went to see Dr. Bryant for his 6 month check-up and he now weighs 20.5 pounds (92%) and 28" long (95%). He is going to be a tall boy! He loved the paper on the table while we were waiting to see her! He was super happy until he got his shots. He cried just a little bit but overall he was a strong boy!

His biggest accomplishment is he is sitting up all by himself! He started sitting unassisted this week which makes things a little more easier. We can now put him on the ground and he will play with his toys for long periods of time. He will study each and every one of them very closely. He loves the bright colors, the music, ones that light up, the ones that make a crinkle sound, the squishy ones and the balls of course. He will throw the balls sideways once he looks at them long enough.

 

Beau is not crawling yet but he has started to do the “inch worm” crawl. His best method of getting somewhere is rolling around until he gets there. It is too funny to watch!

 

Lilly loves to go lick his neck or ear which Beau finds so funny. I guess it tickles. Lilly will sit on the ground with him and watch his every move. Beau loves the company and will grab her ear or fur when she gets close enough. One thing that is amazing is that Beau can tug on Lilly’s ears or pull on her lips and she just does not care at all. She will let him do whatever he wants to her and then will get up and lick him. It is the beginning of a long friendship with those two.

 

 

 

Beau is a great eater. He really is not very picky. His favorites are sweet potatoes, pears, peaches, bananas, prunes, strawberries, peaches, peas, green beans and squash. He does not care for avocados. I am making the majority of his baby food and that is going great and saving us a lot of money. I freeze them in ice cube trays and pop them out into a plastic bag for later use which is the perfect method. He tried yogurt for the first time this week and really enjoyed that. I think he thought that was his dessert! He is also drinking a lot of milk formula so he is one growing boy! He eats in both his Bumbo seat and his highchair. The Bumbo seat is getting a little snug so we are transitioning out of that. His legs are getting a bit chunky!

Beau still loves to jump in his Johnny Jump-Up and will stay in it for long periods of time. He also loves to sit on the floor with his toys and play with his activity mat. He likes to sit in this vibrating chair and watch football with us. He likes to lay in his bed and look at his mobile that goes around in circles and plays music. Jon is working on him standing so he will stand at the coffee table and prop himself up which he thinks is so fun. He is not a huge fan of me reading books to him but he will listen to one book and help turn pages. He responds really well to singing and will smile every time.

 

Beau is a fantastic sleeper. He sleeps all night from 7pm-6:30am consistently. Sometimes he will whine a little bit at night but will go right back to sleep. Jon and I never go in to sooth him because we don’t want him to get use to us going in there if he cries. At night our routine is to give him a bath, put on his footed PJ’s, give him a bottle then put him in his crib to look at his mobile. He will then turn himself over and go to sleep. He sleeps on his tummy and side. He rolls around his crib and moves around at night which is pretty funny to watch in the monitor. He takes about a 3 hour nap every day from around 11-2 in his bed or in the pack-n-play at Mrs. Pat’s. He loves to nap!

 

Beau still loves his bath time! He will sit in the tub and splash around and reach for his rubber ducky’s. He does not mind laying down on his back in the water to get his hair washed and will just kick his feet. I think he will love swimming! He thinks it is so fun to dry off after the bath and loves to have lotion rubbed all over him. He really is one happy kid!

 

He can now hold a 5oz bottle all by himself. This saves me about 10 minutes in the morning. Our morning routine is for me to get almost dressed and then get him out of bed. I will change him and get his clothes on for the day. Then I will put him in his bouncy chair or lay him in our bed with his bottle so he can drink his milk while I finish getting ready. This new little routine has allowed me to get to work at a better time in the morning. Beau likes being a little independent with his bottle but still enjoys us giving it to him at night!

He is now wearing 9month clothes and inching closer to the 12 month sizes in the PJ’s. He is really a tall boy with a chunky body so he will be a big boy! He loves to wear hats, jackets, socks, long sleeves or no clothes at all. He is wearing size 2 diapers but we are about to move up to size 3 ones we are finished with the box we have. The 12 hour night time diapers are a lifesaver at night. They never leak which makes a huge difference because I am not a fan of changing his sheets all the time. Pampers are by far the best brand but Huggies will work too.

He still does a pretty good job of riding in the car but it is not his favorite thing. He can fall asleep pretty quickly if it is around his nap time but he is not one to fall asleep every time he gets into the car like some babies. He enjoys looking out the window and really likes it when someone is in the back seat with him!

Beau is at the precious stage of smiling when someone comes around. He will light up when Jon or I enter the room but he will also smile at most people who talk or smile at him. He does not cry when he goes to strangers and is overall a very very happy baby. He cries when he is hungry or tired but that is pretty much the only times.

 We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy and independent child. We love him more than anything else and he has made these past 6 months a pure joy!