I have a 4 month old!

Elijah is now 4 months old! It's definitely flying by...I remember when I still had 4 months to go in my pregnancy and it feels like it took FOREVER for him to finally get here.

He is the most perfect baby in the whole solar system (I may be a tad biased...) and I really enjoy watching him discover new things every day in the world around him!

We had his 4 month check-up today. His stats: 16lbs 8oz (75th percentile), 26.18 inches (90th percentile), and his head is 44.2cm (98th percentile!!). The doctor (who is an ECU grad and I LOVE) said he's doing super great, and she was very impressed with him! He found his feet recently, and she said this doesn't usually happen until 6 months. She also said she could tell he was getting some "stranger anxiety" with her in the room, which also usually doesn't happen until 6 months. I'm super proud! But nervous about this new anxiety thing...I don't want it to be hard leaving him when I have to go to work! Luckily we have been VERY blessed, and he is usually watched by me, his daddy, my sister or my in-laws. Hopefully, since these people have been around him his whole life, he won't get this stranger anxiety with them. The only time I've ever left him with strangers is at church, and the one time they said he did great!

I can't believe how much he's doing now. He's a LOT more interesting than he was a couple months ago (I know this is a "duh" moment, but it still blows my mind how fast things can change!). He's practically sitting up on his own now, he follows mommy and daddy around the room, he talks ALL the time (his new thing is squealing--we love it!), and he has such a good time with himself just talking and playing (with his hands, feet, or toys). He cracks us up! He's ALWAYS smiling and laughing now. Daddy can get him to laugh more than I can, but I love that they have that they can share. :)
I won't bore you with any more talking. On to the pictures!

my favorite picture!!

LOVE this picture of J and little man!

First Thanksgiving!!

Super cute in his Cookie Monster hat!

his crying face is SO cute!

too perfect for words!!

LOVE that smile :) :)

gangsta :P

being silly

he's gotten SO good at tummy time!

His new toy from one of my mom friends. He LOVES it! (and it is currently occupying his attention)

so handsome!!

at the doctor's today :)

silly boy!

om nom nom!

love this one! "double fisting" :)

Three Months!

Little man is 3 months old today!!

Another month has passed, and I am still SO surprised at how fast it's gone by! Elijah has gotten SO big, and I LOVE watching him grow and discover new things every day. :)) 

He is a champ at holding his head up now. He no longer likes to be held "like a baby" unless you are feeding him or he's really tired. He loves seeing what's going on in the world around him. This past week his naps have significantly dwindled (less than 30 minutes each!), but I think it's because he feels like he's missing out on all the fun! He is *THIS* close to sitting up on his own. We prop him up with the boppy and a couch pillow so he can sit by himself, but a couple of times when I ran to the kitchen to get something quickly, I found this:

haha! It cracked me up. Luckily our couch is deep enough that he was no where near falling off of it. He wasn't fussing or anything when he face-planted. Just kept watching the tv. He LOVES looking at the tv. Some people are super anti-tv for kids, but he enjoys watching the lights flash on the screen, and I think it'd be silly to try and keep him away from that (especially since J had to get one of the biggest tvs out there!).

I have no idea how much he weighs right now, but my guess is around 15lbs. For some reason he still fits in things that say they're for 11-14lbs. We JUST moved to size 2 diapers, and they feel like they're huge on him. He still fits in his 0-3mo clothes, though most of them fit JUST right, but he's been in them since shortly after he was born! He wears some 3-6mo clothes, but they all look super big on him! I think he's definitely gotten taller, though, so his weight is getting more distributed. (Thank goodness he still has his chunky cheeks, though!)

He is SUCH a good sleeper. Most nights I get 10-12 hours straight out of him! And when he does wake up, he just makes a bunch of cute noises :) I usually turn on my light, wait for his eyes to adjust, and smile at him, and I get the biggest smile ever back :) It's the best part of my morning! Then (if I don't have to start getting ready for work) after he's fed and changed, we just hang out in bed and he acts so silly; sticking out his tongue, smiling, and "coo-ing" at me. :) He's my favorite!! We have definitely been blessed, but that makes me nervous for baby #2! (not coming any time soon!)

His little personality is really starting to shine through, and I can tell he's recognizing John and me now! I HATE being away from him when I have to go to work, but I have to keep telling myself it's to provide for him, and I try to make the most of the time I DO get with him. I'm nervous he's going to start teething soon, because he has been drooling like it's his job lately. Not sure if I'm ready for that step! I'm excited about giving him solids soon, too, but going to try and hold off on that until he is 6 months old. We'll see what his pediatrician says next month. We definitely don't need any help sleeping! :)

Look how tall he is!

You can tell he is getting better at holding his head up!

learning his ABCs

my overly-excited sister and E this morning! he's wearing his "man" clothes!

LOVES blowing spit bubbles!

trying out his "EZ Diner" to sit at the table with us. big fail, he wasn't happy!

he scratched his eye and looks like he's been crying, but I LOVE this onesie!

Our Halloween outfit (spit-up included!)

gangsta baby :)

Two Months!

Little man is 2 months old today! I can't believe how fast it's gone. I can't imagine life without this special guy!

Elijah had his 2-month checkup yesterday. The doctor, who I love!, said he looks great! He is now 13lbs, 12 oz, and 23.5 inches tall! He's gained almost 5lbs and grown 3 inches in the last 2 months! Definitely our little chunk-chunk. :) He is in the 75-90th percentile, but very proportionate. Go little buddy! He had to get 3 shots yesterday, and handled them like a champ. I really love our pediatrician's office. They had 2 nurses do the shots, so it would be over with quickly. He screamed as he was getting poked, but as soon as he was done I scooped him up and quickly calmed him to sleep. :) I love being able to do that...makes me feel like I may actually be doing something right! He slept a lot the rest of the day yesterday, and has been a little fussy and warm today. But no temperature (as of yet), and he is still acting like his silly self!

My favorite development: He's started smiling and sticking his tongue out! It's so precious :) J was the first one to get him to smile, but now he smiles allllll the time. So rewarding! He's probably smiling because mommy and daddy act/look/sound like idiots, but we'll take it :P

This one is my favorite! Love his outfit!

The first picture J sent me of him smiling :))

Such a handsome dude!

His head control is getting excellent! He doesn't like to be held like a baby much anymore, unless you're feeding him. He LOVES sitting facing out so he can see what's going on. We sit him in the bumbo on occasion, and yesterday he even got to sit in his jumper yesterday for a bit!

Bumbo

Jumper

He has been sleeping through the night for the most part. For a while we got 7-9 hour stretches every night! The last 2 nights he's only slept 5 & 6 hours, both times waking up at 3:30. We recently tried having him sleep in his Pack'n'Play (like a portable crib), and that may be what's making him not sleep as well. He usually sleeps in his Rock'n'Play (yellow polka-dotted thing above). We will eventually put him in his crib, but I like having him close by (read: I'm lazy and don't want to have to walk to his room when he wakes up hungry).

Being back at work is still okay. I love my job, but the hours are wearing on me. I want to play with my baby 24/7! If only I could get paid for that :P J graduates the Academy next Thursday! Super excited for him. :)) He'll be all official and can arrest people and stuff! He said there's a pretty hefty consequence for assaulting an Officer...so I better be nice! Unfortunately, "nice" has never been a word used to describe me. :P Haha!

Look how much my baby has grown in just a month! This is the same onesie. :)

Look at his head control now!

Almost 6 Weeks

Little man will be 6 weeks old on Saturday! :) I have my 6-week check-up on Friday; I sure hope everything is good, because I've been doing a bunch of things they told me I probably shouldn't do until after this check-up. What can I say, I'm impatient! (something I know all of you already know about me!) They told me not to leave the house much until baby is 2 months old. I shouldn't be working or lifting anything until after 6 weeks. Oh well! I am definitely not the type of person to sit around the house all day, and unless they were going to pay my bills for 6 weeks, staying away from work was not going to happen! BUT I feel great, baby is doing great, and we're getting in to somewhat of a routine. :)

J is still in the Academy (graduates in less than a month!), so for now his schedule is just M-F. My only day of having to work is Mondays, so my dad watches Elijah for the day until J gets home from work. Tuesday nights are also a weekly thing I HAVE to work, and I have to be there before J gets off of work, so his mom comes over after she gets off of work to watch Elijah until J gets home. I love that he gets weekly time with his grandparents! I work nights the rest of the week (except my 2 days off, which are random), so I take little man to work with me while I do my paperwork and get ready for the cruise (and the office ladies love seeing him!), then J picks him up from me because his work is literally right down the street from my office. I love being able to sleep in with him every day, and that J gets alone time with him at night. :) When both of us are home, the control freak in me gets the baby most of the time. So I like that J still gets a chance to bond with him, too! He does this adorable thing where he'll say "kissy lips!" and make them at E, and he'll do them back to him! It's the cutest thing EVER.

On the sleeping note, my little man loves to sleep! I realize this is a phase and could change very quickly, but for now I am loving it. I had a feeling he'd be a sleeper because he slept well "on the inside" and never woke me up at night (except for that one time with the hiccups--which he still gets a lot!). The past 3 nights he has had an 8-9 hour stretch of sleep! Then I feed him, and he sleeps for a few more hours, I feed him again, and he's usually back to sleep! In the afternoon/evening he is awake a little more before finally going to sleep any time between 8 and 11pm. He's just perfect!

He is eating about 4oz at a time for the most part now. Every once in a while he'll still be hungry after that, and I usually give him a couple more ounces and he's happy and full. :) Such a growing boy! I am anxious for his 8 week appointment (I have to wait until October! Boooo) to see how much he has grown!

J and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on the 2nd of this month. :) We went to Busch Gardens for the day while my parents watched little man. It was nice getting away (and riding roller coasters!!!), but I sure missed my babe! And I HIGHLY recommend the new ride at BG! Scared the bejeebees out of me!!!

So, life is very good. :) We are adjusting and adapting well. J is an excellent dad! We are all getting enough sleep, I am still getting to eat hot meals, and we are just very very blessed. :)

And here is some "eye candy" from the last couple weeks. :) I love my little family!!

I have a 2 week old!

Well, 2.5 weeks now. It still feels like he was just born yesterday. I have LOVED spending every day with him, snuggling and watching him discover the world around him. Which is currently mostly just our house. We take him out quite a bit (more than your average 2.5 week old), but still spend most of our days at home in the bed or on the couch. It's lovely!

I return to work on Monday (though I've been in to the office twice in the last two weeks...I'm a bit of a control freak!), and while I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of things, It's not going to be easy leaving my baby! Yesterday when I was at the office (with little man), J got off work early so he came and got E so I could finish work without having to worry about him. I was away from him for 4 hours and was itching to go home and get some smooches! I am glad that I'm going back to work sooner rather than later, but I just hope I don't miss any big milestones in his life!

Recovery hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. I feel great, and would forget that I just had a baby if it weren't for this flab of skin on my tummy :P It's so nice to not have to worry about bumping in to everything with my bellehhh, my back hurting, contractions, or my feet swelling! :)

Little man is doing great. Most nights we get a 4-6 hour stretch of sleep, and then 3 hours stretches. Could be worse. I'm worried about getting enough sleep when I go back to work, but I'll be working nights, so I should (hopefully) be able to get some sleep during the day before I have to go in. He eats 3-5oz at a time (our little chunk-chunk!), every 2-4 hours (longer stretches at night). He is the cutest thing ever!! All day I feel like I just stare at him and take pictures. Most of them end up on Instagram! I adore his eyes, and loooove his chubby cheeks! While I don't like thinking of him growing up, I am SO excited to see who he is going to grow up to be. :))

Wow, that was a lot of rambling! 

Here is a picture of my little family from my work "Spirit Day" last Monday. :))

He's Heeeeere!!

Elijah Lee Eagle is finally here!! Friday didn't see much progress with what they had given me, but Saturday morning things skyrocketed in the right direction! :) He arrived without any complications at 12:27 on Saturday, 8/4/2012, weighing 8lbs, 13oz, and 20.5 inches long. He is the CUTEST baby in the world!

((Ignore this part if you don't want to know too much about me))
After being in the hospital since Thursday night at midnight, I finally started progressing on Saturday (aka Friday was a loooong, uneventful day!). My labor wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared. I got an epidural (which SUPER hurt to get put in!!) and they started pitocin at around 5-5:30am on Saturday, when I was less than 2cm dilated. The epidural was the most amazing thing ever, and I was able to sleep through my contractions finally. They were pretty bad, and about 2 minutes apart at that point. I don't remember the exact times they checked me after that, but I quickly got to 5-6 cm, then at around 10:30 I was at 8cm and they wanted me to start "practice pushing" at 11-11:15ish. Pushing was not easy, even though I couldn't feel much, because I was already exhausted. And every time the doctor said "I can see his head! He has lots of hair!" I got freaked out. Haha. While definitely a miracle, the thought of the head coming out is not something I want to think about often! Then the doctor said "Okay, who has blonde hair??" and that REALLY freaked me out. My baby is a blondie??! Then around noon the nurse and J were talking about when they thought he was going to come out. J said around 12:30, and the nurse said "I'm thinking more like 12:42." All I could think about was "45 MORE MINUTES OF PUSHING???!!!!?!" So I pushed harder. When the doctor came in, she said her guess was 12:27. And what do ya know! She's obviously very experienced with this. :) J's guess was practically spot on, too! Despite me thinking he wouldn't want to, he watched the whole thing happen. Which I think is gross, but it's his eyes! When Elijah finally came out, it was the weirdest feeling in the entire world. Like this slimy alien just sliding out of my body. When Elijah came out, he didn't cry at first, just started looking around at everything. They put him in this incubator thing to clean him up, and then he started crying the sweetest little cry in the world. He's not a very loud crier, and that made me start bawling. I still can't believe we made a baby! The placenta came out almost right after baby did, same weird slimy feeling, and I only had one small tear. They put Elijah on me and all I could do was stare at him... the drugs I was on made my body start shaking, so I gave little man to J to let them bond for a little, and begged the nurses for food. Luckily it wasn't too late for lunch! Halfway through eating, I threw it all up (I kept saying the whole time I was pushing that I was going to vomit!), but luckily it was only HALFway through, so I could still finish the rest. :P We got to spend an hour with him, just the 3 of us (and the nurse that bathed him and made sure everything checked out okay). Then we moved to our recovery room where both of our families were waiting to meet our little wonderman. Childbirth is a crazy experience.

I wasn't feeling too bad initially, but once the drugs wore off I was pretty sore. Recovery hasn't been as bad as I thought it'd be, either! My back hurts pretty bad where they put the epidural, and my tailbone hurts from the pushing, but I'm doing great! It takes me a little bit to get going when I've been sitting for a while, but once I'm up, I'm okay. I got to take a long shower today, and that was AMAZING! J is at work today, so it's just me and little man until he gets off and we go home. But they've got a lot of things to do with us/talk to us about since we're going home today. I am super excited to take Elijah home and have him all to ourselves (and not be constantly interrupted by the nurses who have to keep checking on me and baby, even though we've both been nothing but perfect!), and to show him all of his cool stuff that everyone got him. But I'm definitely nervous about not having anyone to help me at the push of a button (like get me ice water, bring me food, and tell me how good of a job I'm doing). We'll manage, though. :)

Overall, I had a pretty easy pregnancy (though it was LONG), a pretty easy delivery, and a very happy, healthy baby boy. We are VERY blessed, and I am so thankful that everything has turned out like it has. Despite all of this, it's not something I want to do again any time soon, so please, no talk of #2.

I couldn't add pics from the hospital, so here they are now:

 this was the announcement on my work's homepage :)

I can't get enough of his cute little body and squishy cheeks!!! I always thought people were weird when they talked about wanting to "eat" their babies. But now I understand!!! I want to just eat his cheeks and hands and feet and belly and..... you get the picture :) :)