Hunter with Tigger at 4 months old

He is just so cute!

Love that smile

He is just so cute… oh wait, I already said that.

We just got out Hailey’s old Jumperoo and so far it seems to be a big hit!!

Hailey (5 1/2 years) and Hunter (4 months)

Sharing a little moment

New stuff from this last month:

No more colic!!  Woo Hoo!!  At around 3 1/2 months Hunter had his last screaming, colicky evening.  I am soooooo thankful that is over.  I have never in my life heard a baby cry like he did for so long.  It was the worst.  We both spent many evenings crying together.

Hunter “talks” to us a lot more.  He goos and coos and waits for us to respond, then he talks some more.  It’s so cute!  His little giggle is so wonderful to hear.  Hailey is the best at making him laugh.  He sure does love her and gives her lots and lots of giggles.  Hunter is so social- he loves to smile and talk to everyone!  He never wants to be left alone, even for a minute.  He always wants someone to be talking to him and paying attention to him.  It makes it a little hard to get much of anything done.  But as long as I talk to him about whatever I am trying to do he is usually happy.

Hunter goes to bed around 7:30 every night.  At about 7:15 he starts to fuss and act tired.  It’s the only consistent part of his day.  The number of times he gets up during the night really varies.  Some nights he is up every hour.  Then there are other nights he only gets up twice.  Naps are never very good.  He will sleep for about 30 minutes at the most.  If I hold him, he’ll sleep longer but that is such a bad habit that I am really trying not to do it.  Sometimes if we are out and he falls asleep in his car seat he will stay asleep for a good 2 hour nap, but that never ever happens when he is at home in his bed.

Hunter is still breastfeeding.  He usually eats every 2-3 hours during the day.  At night he goes for some longer stretches, up to 4 hours.  He actually took a bottle a couple of times this last month.  So hopefully the bottle refusal is over.

At Hunter’s 4 month check up he weighed 16 pounds (70th percentile) and was 26 inches (85th percentile).  He is still wearing 3-6 month clothes but I don’t think he will be for much longer.  He is finishing up a package of size 2 diapers but is definitely ready to move up to size 3 diapers!  (Size 3 diapers are about $16 for a package of 96 in the Luvs brand.)

Hunter with Tigger at 3 months old

My little man

Hunter loves to put his little fists up by his face.  Sometimes he puts them up in front of his eyes and looks them all over.  He looks like he’s ready for a fight

We just got this exersaucer for Hunter a few days ago.  He wants to be held all the time so I thought maybe he needed something new and fun to play with.  Plus he can see what’s going on around the room better than when he’s laying on the floor in his boppy.  He really likes the exersaucer if someone is right there playing with him… or by himself but only for a few minutes and then he starts screeching for someone to come pay attention to him.  It makes it a little hard to get anything done, but I know it’s only a phase.

His little feet don’t quite touch the floor yet.  Such cute little piggies.

Isn’t he the cutest baby boy ever?

I love those cheeks!!  They get lots of kisses!!

He’s just so cute!  From every angle.

Hunter has recently started blowing bubbles.

Hailey (5 years) and Hunter (3 months).  I sure do love these two!!!!

Some of the things Hunter has started doing in the last month:

Hunter has added some new sounds- he says “ma” and “ba.”  Sometimes it sounds like he is saying mama and it’s so cute.  He loves to say “Oooooooo”  “Ewwwwwww” “Awwwwww.”  He has little conversations with us and it is just the cutest thing.

Hunter has always laughed in his sleep (I wonder what he is dreaming about!) but we finally got to hear his laugh when he’s awake.  The first time it happened was when Hailey said something to him and he did just a little giggle.  About a week later Grandma and Pa were here and we were all laughing at something and Hunter laughed too.  Just this week we were at the doctor and when the doctor came in the room Hunter looked at him and started laughing really hard.  It was so cute and so funny!!  The doctor was laughing too and Hunter just kept laughing and laughing for several minutes.  And then every time he looked at the doctor he laughed again.  He hasn’t laughed that hard again since then so I guess I need to get a picture of the doctor to make Hunter laugh.

Other stuff Hunter has started doing this month- He loves to chew on his hands.  This isn’t actually new this month but he has been doing it a lot more.  He loves to spit out his pacifier and stick his hand in his mouth and chew or suck on it.  He also looks at his hands and turns them around and watches them.  He started blowing bubbles and drooling a lot this month.  Every once in a while he’ll blow raspberries but he isn’t doing it on purpose yet.  Hunter will be cooing and smiling at us and then suddenly his face will get serious and he’ll just stare at us.  A few times Hunter has completely turned himself around in his crib.  I put him to bed with his head at one end and it’s at the other end when I go back.  He picks his legs up and them slams them down on the bed and it somehow makes his body turn around.  Hunter does not like tummy time very much and he screeches when he does tummy time.  He has started pushing his legs forward while he’s on his tummy and it pushes his bottom up in the air.  It looks funny but it makes him really mad.  He has rolled over a couple more times too.

Sleep has been awful lately!  I don’t know what happened but I must have jinxed myself last month when I said Hunter was doing good with sleeping.  He is still ready to go to bed at around 7:30.  Then he’ll sleep a good stretch of maybe 3 hours and wake up to eat.  He usually goes right back to sleep.  Lately he’s been up every 1-2 hours after that.  Sometimes I just give him his pacifier and he goes right back to sleep.  Sometimes he wants to eat and usually goes right back to sleep.  Even though he usually goes back to sleep pretty good, it is still exhausting to get up so much.  I am so tired I actually looked up on google to see if I could die from a lack of sleep hahaha.  Apparently not since I’m still alive.

Hunter is still breastfeeding- he goes anywhere from 2-4 hours between feedings.  Right around 2 months Hunter started giving us a hard time about taking a bottle and has now decided to refuse to take one at all.  That makes it a bit hard for me to be away from him   Rich and I went on a date last weekend and had to come home in between dinner and the movie so I could feed him.  Then I worried all through the movie that he was going to want to eat.  He was fine though because it was bedtime, when he usually does his longest stretch between feedings.

Hunter was at the doctor a couple of days ago and he weighed 15 pounds, 4 oz.  He didn’t have his height checked since it wasn’t an actual check up (he had a rash all over his tummy and chest that we were getting looked at).  Hunter is still wearing 3-6 month clothes and still wears a size 2 diaper.

Hunter at 2 months old with Tigger.  Hunter has grown so much in the last month!
(Notice he has arms positioned just like Tigger)

Hunter loves this outfit

Cute little man   (And yes, he did pee while I was taking this picture hahaha)

My little man cub.  He looks like he’s ready to fight

Sleepy baby… love those cheeks and his gorgeous eye lashes.

Hunter with big sister Hailey.

Some things that Hunter started doing during this last month:

Hunter has added a new sound to his cooing that he does- one of the sounds he makes is to say “hi.”  Of course he doesn’t really know what he’s saying but it sounds just like he is saying “hi” and it is so cute!

Hunter loves to play with this.  He lays under is and bats at the star and the planet and hits them and gets them swinging.  He talks to it and smiles at it too.

Hunter’s favorite thing to do is still watching Hailey.  He will sit for the longest time and just watch what she is doing.  He smiles at her and talks to her all the time too.  He sure loves his big sister!  Hunter loves to listen to music- sometimes he waves his hands around like he is directing the music.  He also loves bath time now and getting his lotion on afterwards.  He is so still and quiet and seems to really enjoy it.  Sometimes he even kicks his feet in the tub so I’m pretty sure that means he’s excited to be in there.  He is still super cuddly.  When I pick him up he just snuggles right into me and I love it!!  I’m pretty sure that Hunter enjoys peeing as soon I take his diaper off.  The other day he peed all over the wall and while he was peeing he said, “oooooo.”  So I’m pretty sure he’s doing it on purpose   Hunter has also discovered, just this week that he loves sucking on his hand.  He will spit out his pacifier so that he can suck on his hand.  I keep taking his hand out and putting the pacifier back in his mouth… I don’t want him to suck his thumb, so we’ll see who wins this battle.  When he does leave his pacifier in his mouth he likes to press his fist up against it like he’s trying to keep it in his mouth.

Hunter has been sleeping much better at night!  I hope I don’t jinx myself by saying this… but he usually goes to bed around 7:30 or 8pm.  Around 10 I will change him and feed him again before I go to bed.  Then he goes right back to bed and sleeps until usually around 1 or 2 and wakes up to eat.  But he goes right back to bed.  Then he usually wakes up one more time to eat and goes right back to sleep.  I don’t mind getting up and feeding him for 10 minutes when he goes right back to sleep!  Nap time is different though- for some reason he does not like to sleep in his bed during the day.  He wakes up after only a few minutes when I put him in his crib.  So naps have been happening in his swing as he will take a good nap in there.  He usually takes a few naps during the day in his swing.  He stays awake for a couple of hours at a time, most of his awake time is in the afternoon and evening.

Hunter is still breastfeeding- he goes anywhere between 2-4 hours between feedings.

This month has been a little worrisome for me- around 7 weeks I noticed that one of Hunter’s pupils was smaller than the other one.  I had actually noticed it well before that but the next time I looked at him they were the same size, so I thought I was imagining it.  But at 7 weeks I noticed it again and looked through some pictures and could actually see it in some pictures.  It is not always smaller, sometimes they are the exact same size.  So we went to the doctor who sent us to see a pediatric opthamologist.  Fortunately we were able to get in the very next day to see the pediatric opthamologist.  I really liked him!  He did not see the difference in pupil size while we were there, but I did show him a picture so he could see what I was talking about.  He did a very thorough exam (we were there for well over an hour) and his opinion is that the smaller pupil is a developmental thing.  He wants to see us back in a month- we go at the beginning of March just so he can keep an eye on it.  He said sometime this happens in babies and they may outgrow it, or they may not.  The eye doctor actually mentioned that his own pupils were 2 different sizes.  He told me I should not be worried about it, but of course I am still worried about it.  I feel like I’m checking obsessively to see if they are the same size… sometime they are and sometimes they are not.

Hunter had his 2 month check up on the 14th and he is up to 12 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile) and he is 24.25 inches (90th percentile).  I can’t believe how fast he is growing!!  Just this week I had to put away his 0-3 month clothes (sniff, sniff) and get out the 3-6 month clothes.  He is wearing size 2 diapers (which cost $7 for 42 diapers with the Luvs brand).

]]> http://livinwithme.com/2012/02/2-months-old/feed/ 0 http://livinwithme.com/2012/01/1-month-old/ http://livinwithme.com/2012/01/1-month-old/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:40:21 +0000 Melanie http://livinwithme.com/?p=5381 It seems impossible to believe that one month ago we were going to the hospital for Hunter to be born.  My c-section was scheduled for 10:30am but they took me in a little early.  It seemed like the time was crawling by and the minutes felt like hours!  Finally at 10:25am Hunter was born.  Every single minute since then has flown by.  Time is going by even faster now than it ever has before.

Unless you’re new here you know that with Hailey I take pictures of her next to Tigger so I can see how much she has grown.  So now I’m going to do the same thing with Hunter.

Hunter at 1 month old with Tigger.

Giving me a little smile

Hunter and big sister Hailey

Just some random pictures of Hunter at one month old:

My Little Man Cub

Some things Hunter started doing during this last month:

He smiles at us- his doctor agreed that it is a real smile.  He said if you can make your baby smile and it isn’t just happening randomly then it’s real.

Hunter does some cooing- he likes to say gooo, ahhh and a few other cute noises.  He makes cute happy screeching noises.  He also enjoys grunting, which I’m sure as a male he’ll enjoy for the rest of his life

Some of Hunter’s favorite things to do include watching Hailey play (this is his favorite!), listening to Hailey read to him, looking at the mobile above his bed, looking at the ceiling fan in his room- it’s black against the white ceiling and he really loves to look at it, smile at it and coo at it.  He loves looking at books that have babies in them, he seems to be enjoying tummy time a bit more this last week and he likes his toys that make that crinkling noise.  Hunter is a very snuggly baby and he loves to be held and cuddled.

Hunter has been sleeping pretty good, considering.  He sleeps better at night than during the day and I will certainly not complain about that.  At night he’ll sleep about 2-2 1/2 hours, wake up to eat and usually go back to sleep.  Sometimes he stays up for an hour or 2, but for the most part he goes back to sleep.  During the day he doesn’t nap very well, he wants to be held while he’s sleeping (he only does this during the day) and as soon as I put him down he wakes up within about 5 minutes.  I’ve only been getting about 3-4 hours of sleep each night (his feedings take a while and I have to be up early to get Hailey ready for school) so it’s been really hard to not be able to take a nap during the day since he doesn’t sleep well during the day.

Right now Hunter is breastfeeding.  He goes anywhere between 1 1/2- 3 hours between feedings.

I also left Hunter with Grandma for the first time on Friday- the day he was 4 weeks old.  I hadn’t bought groceries since before Hunter was born.  Rich had picked up things like milk and bread but our cupboards were really bare.  I didn’t want to take Hunter out with all the germs going around at this time of year.  Since Hunter had tried using a bottle successfully, Grandma offered to watch him while I got groceries.

Hunter didn’t have an appointment at 1 month so I’m not positive about his weight- but according to our scale at home he’s about 10 pounds.  He has an appointment at 2 months so I’ll know for sure then what his stats are.  He is wearing size 0-3 clothes and is in size 1 diapers (which cost $7-$10 for 50 diapers, depending on the brand).

]]> http://livinwithme.com/2012/01/1-month-old/feed/ 0 http://livinwithme.com/2012/01/3-weeks-old/ http://livinwithme.com/2012/01/3-weeks-old/#comments Sun, 08 Jan 2012 15:50:41 +0000 Melanie http://livinwithme.com/?p=5353 I can’t believe it’s already been 3 weeks since Hunter was born.  Once he turns 1 month I’ll probably just do monthly updates, unless of course there is something big to report.

Hunter is not a big fan of tummy time.  I’m pretty sure he’s giving me the evil eye for making him do it.

Little feet

Hailey is so good with Hunter.  She is the best big sister!  She wants to play with him everyday.  She shows him his toys and reads books to him.  I love watching her with Hunter.

A little kiss for her baby brother.

3 weeks old… he’s already changed so much!!

The other day I left Hunter in his crib watching his mobile while I went to wash my hands after changing his diaper.  He didn’t have his pacifier when I left the room (it was next to him in his crib), but when I came back it was in his hand and he was pushing it on his face like he was trying to get it in his mouth.

Hunter has started “talking” to us.  He says “goo” and “ahh.”  I love the sound of his little voice!

Hunter tried his first bottle at 3 weeks, 1 day.  He did great!  He drank it right up.  Hailey loved feeding him!!  She keeps telling me that I need to make him another bottle and then go on a date with Rich so she can feed him while we’re gone.

Hunter has already started turning sideways in his crib.  I don’t know how he does it!  But I had to take the front bumper off of his bed so his face doesn’t end up against the bumper.  We also had to stop letting him sleep in the cradle because he moves around and was making the cradle rock and then making it swing and he was ending up laying up against the side of it.  He does seem to sleep better in his crib… or maybe I just don’t hear every little sound he makes since he’s in his own room now.

While we have kept Hunter clean by sponge bath, his cord finally came off and he had his first real bath.  Hailey was a big helper and loved helping me with the bath!  Hunter was quiet for about a minute and then decided he had had enough!

He still wasn’t very happy after his bath

Finally in his pajamas he was a happy baby.

Rich also put Hailey’s old swing together and Hunter really enjoyed it.

Hunter had his 2 week doctors appointment too.  He is up to 9lbs 4oz (55th percentile) and is 21.5 inches long (75th percentile).  The doctor commented on how strong his neck is.  She said he must have been born looking around the room- which he was!  At one day old he was holding his head up trying to get a look to see what was going on.  She also commented that he seemed very content to just look around the room and to just observe.  So far Hunter does seem to be a very content baby.  He loves to quietly look around and just study things.  As far as sleep our first few nights at home were rough and we had a couple of rough nights this week.  But for the most part at night, Hunter sleeps about 2 1/2 hours, wakes up to eat and goes back to sleep for another 2 1/2 hour stretch.  During the day he takes a few long naps, wakes up in between to eat and do a little interacting with us.  He stays awake for about 1-2 hours at a time, although sometimes he stretches it out a bit longer.  He rarely cries unless he is hungry or tired.  We are so thankful for our little man cub!!

Hailey with Tigger at 5 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 4 years old

Hailey with Tigger at 3 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 2 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 1 year old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 5 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 4 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 3 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 2 years old.

Hailey has actually been 5 for almost 3 weeks but I wanted to wait until she had her 5 year physical to post so I would know her height.  She is now 44 inches tall and in the 80th percentile.  Last year her doctor thought her height might slow down a little bit and kind of level off… which is did since she went from the 90th percentile to the 80th.

Developmentally- Hailey is in kindergarten and is doing fantastic!! She loves school and loves learning. She loves to write and is always asking how to spell words so she can write them down. She is working hard on sounding out words on her own too.  She really wants to read and I know she’ll be able to read soon.

A few of Hailey’s favorite things at age 5: “I like the Scooby Doo movies that Uncle Mike gave me, the Barbie princess from Princess Charm school, my American Doll, playing games with Mommy and Dadddy, chocolate candy and chocolate lollipops.  My favorite friends are Anika, James, Kerrigan, Logan and Josh.”

Hailey with Tigger at 4 years old

Hailey with Tigger at 3 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 2 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 1 year old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 4 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 3 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 2 years old.

Hailey actually turned 4 about 2 weeks ago but she just had her 4 year physical so I wanted to wait until after her physical so I could post her new stats.  Hailey is now 41 3/4 inches tall which is in the 90th percentile.  Her doctor thinks she might slow down a little this year and average out a bit with her growth. We’ll see- she’s always been around the 90th percentile.

Developmentally- Hailey is still doing fantastic.  Of course I’m her mother so I think she’s perfect- but even her pediatrician says she’s pretty smart.

I love Hailey’s pediatrician- he is fantastic!  Her physical took an hour and a half- that’s a long time!  He wasn’t in the room the entire time, but he was for most of it.  He did a thorough exam and talked to her a lot.  He asked her if she sleeps in her own bed, so she told him she has her own bed but that she also sleeps with mommy and daddy.  I told him she comes in every night around 3 to get in bed with us.  His response- “You know she won’t do that forever.  No one ever walks into my bedroom in the middle of the night anymore and says ‘Dad, I’m cold, can I sleep with you?’ So enjoy it.”  Which almost made me cry… she’s growing up way too fast!!

A few of Hailey’s favorite things at age 4- “My Baby All Gone, princesses and princes, SpongeBob, singing songs, reading books, coloring, watching TV and DVDs, going to school and playing outside.  My favorite friends are J (her prince) and Anika.”

Hailey with Tigger at 3 years old.

Hailey with Tigger at 2 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 3 years old.

Hailey next to her ABC blocks at 2 years old.

Hailey had her 3 year check up today- she was actually sick for her well check up, she’s been running a fever and not feeling well. But she did great during her appointment and waited patiently while I talked to the doctor.

Physically- Hailey weighs 40 pounds and is 39 inches tall.  Her weight is in the 97th percentile and her height is in the 90th percentile.  Even though it seems like she might be overweight being in the 97th percentile her weight is actually perfect for her height.  I have no idea where she gets being so tall from!

Developmentally- Hailey is still doing great!  She is such a little smarty pants!  She is like a little sponge and absorbs anything and everything we say to her.

Hailey loves singing and dancing, princesses, doing art projects and reading books.  She has a great imagination and a big heart.

Hailey with Tigger at 2 1/2.

For comparison, here is Hailey at 2 years old with Tigger.  I think the difference I can see the most is that at age 2 Hailey still looked like a toddler.  Now at 2 1/2 she doesn’t really look like a toddler anymore

Hailey actually turned 2 1/2 a little over a week ago.  I’m a little late with this post since we are in the process of moving.  Anyhoo- at age 2 1/2 Hailey is doing just great.  She is so much fun and has such a great personality.  As always, I am absolutely loving this stage.

Here are a few pictures of Hailey doing her favorite things:

Hailey still loves books.  She always has books to read and will sit and listen to stories as long as someone is willing to read to her.

Another one of Hailey’s favorite things to do is to line up all of her little people.

Physically at 2 1/2- Hailey weighs 33 1/2 pounds and is 35 3/4 inches tall.  She looks so much older than 2 1/2 and people are always surprised that she is only 2.

Developmentally- Hailey is doing great.  She talks and talks and carries on fun conversations.  She uses some pretty big words for a 2 year old- the other day she said, “I’m confused Mommy.”  She is such a little smarty- she can count to 13, recognizes most of her letters and knows her colors and shapes.  She understands one to one correspondence- she can count four items and say, “I have four.”

Hailey had to have an appointment with a neurologist this last month for some headaches she had been having.  She is totally fine.  After a very, very thorough checkup the neurologist told us how impressed she was with how smart Hailey is.  She said that Hailey acts like a much older child in the way that she talks and understands what people are saying to her.  (Of course, she hasn’t seen the very age appropriate tantrums that we see at home.)  Anyways the neurologist said that the reason Hailey probably gets occasional headaches is because she is extremely bright and children who are very advanced tend to get headaches because they are so very observant and kind of go into overload.

Hailey knows soooo many songs that I can’t even start to list them.  But, a few of her favorites, that she knows all of the words to, include:  “The ABC’s,” “Twinkle, Twinkle,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” “He’s Still Workin’ On Me,” “I Am a Promise,” “The Butterfly song,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “This Little Light of Mine” and sooooo many more.

I absolutely love this stage- and I know I’ve said it before about other ages- but 2 1/2 is my favorite age so far!  I am so blessed and so thankful for this amazing little girl God has given us.  I pray every day that we are making the right choices for her life.