Four Months

Well it's been a fairly busy couple of week with the Holidays, so this post is a little late, but oh well! We had a very fun Christmas with Jared's family up in Boise, and now we are back to the grind. Here are some things to remember about Asher at four months.

- At his four month check up he weighed 14 lbs and was 26 inches long. That is the 35th and 90th percentiles respectively. It has been two weeks since then and he definitely hit a four month growth spurt, so we think he's probably around 15 lbs now. Either way he gains most of his weight in his cheeks!

- He rolled over for the first time around the beginning of December. We had been trying to get him to do it for a while, but one day he decided to lean his head far enough over to the side to get his momentum going and roll. He has only done it a couple of times since then and not for a couple of weeks now. I don't really care if it takes him forever to learn how to roll, crawl and walk, I'd rather have him immobile for as long as possible!

- We gave him rice cereal for the first time a couple of weeks ago and he totally gagged on it! We made it too thick to start with, so once we watered it down a little it only took him a few times to catch on. I think he likes it pretty well. He had been eating around 6 oz with every bottle there for a while, but lately he's been eating a lot less. I'm not sure if it was from the growth spurt or because of starting rice cereal, but right now we are lucky if he eats 5 oz. at a time.

- He still loves his playmat and will play under it for long stretches of time without having to be entertained by either of us.

- He thinks it is really cool to watch the TV and to FaceTime on our phones. It must be the bright lights because he obviously doesn't have a clue what's really going on. We are going to take him to a movie with us tonight, so hopefully he'll just sit and stare. . . or fall asleep preferably.

- I took him down to STG to visit my parents a couple of weeks ago and he really loved watching their little dogs run around. He would reach out and try to grab them too, but luckily he never got a good grip on them.

- My nephew has a thermal receiving blanket that he sleeps with all the time and calls his "Little" so he wanted to get a "Little" for Asher to have. I slept with it a few times before Asher was born so it would smell like me and he has loved it since birth. I decided to start sticking it in his crib during naps to see if it would help him sleep any better and what do ya know, it totally worked. So he now sleeps with his Little all of the time.

- He loves to take baths. He will sit in the tub and splash and kick all over. It is seriously going to be a nightmare when he gets bigger and will probably soak us every time, but for now we think it's cute!

- He has been gripping his toys a lot better lately. He also loves to reach for our faces and try to grab onto anything he can get his hands on.  We've got to keep his fingernails pretty short because he's clawed us pretty good a few times.

- He does not like wearing any form of hat. We tried to take some pictures of him with a Santa hat on for our Christmas card and it really pissed him off (See funny pic below). He usually fusses when we put his beanie on, but has gotten better at tolerating it.

- For the most part he just sleeps in his crib, but on the occasions that we are out and about or at church, he will only fall asleep if I am holding him. I won't lie, it's kind of cute and I secretly love it, but the kid is pretty freaking heavy so it starts to hurt after a while!

- He has started to make some laughing sounds. He hasn't given us a full gut laugh yet, but he has a distinct little grunt he makes now when he is happy. He has also been talking a lot more lately and doing random little high pitched screams, it's cute.


Jared and I decided to get a nice camera to document our growing family. It was our Christmas present to ourselves as well as from our parents, so thanks guys, we love it!

He thought he could be a big kid 

and hold his bottle by himself.

His typical face

This was the peak of our nap time desperation,

I've since gotten rid of the changing pad and use rolled

up blankets instead. You do what you gotta do!

This was the face right before he had a meltdown 

because he hates wearing the hat!

He's not sure about snow yet.

Lots of baby cousins at Christmas. 

Three Months

Another month has gone by, which is crazy, I'm not sure where the times goes! Things I want to remember about Asher at three months. . .

- He's still sleeping through the night without any problems. We put him to bed between 7:00 - 8:00 pm and he sleeps until 7ish in the morning. I know we are pretty lucky!

- He doesn't nap all that well during the day and usually wakes up after 45 min or so. He has a really hard time getting through sleep transitions. I tried pulling out the swing again and that helps, but the past few days they've still been short even though he's been in the swing so I think I might just bag that altogether, oh well.

- I moved him to a 3.5 hour eating schedule and that has been working pretty well the past few weeks. He eats around 5 ounces each time. He's not too picky about whether it's breast milk, formula or what the temperature of the milk is, which makes life a lot easier on me. He's a pretty laid back little guy.

- We pulled out the playmat for him last month and he has been obsessed ever since. He loves to lay underneath it and look at all the toys and the little mirror. His favorite thing to do is kick one of the poles so all the toys shake. He'd be happy playing under it for hours if we let him! He loves the little monkeys that hang down, he's obsessed with monkeys.

- He is starting to get a little bit better handle of his arms and hands. He is starting to reach for our faces and for his hanging toys. He's been sucking on his hands a lot lately, we'll see if he ends up being a thumb sucker like both of his parents were.

- He is a happy baby and continues to smile and "talk" to us all of the time. He always smiles and talks to us the most in the morning. I am not a morning person at all, so at least he's happy to start the day!

- He has had some pretty nasty blowouts during the past couple of weeks. Oxyclean has been my best friend since he's been born!

- Unfortunately he still doesn't like his carseat, but I just attach his bink to his strap so that I can reach back and help him if needed when we are at a stop light. We've also been hanging one of his monkey toys from the handle and he seems to like that.

- The stinking kid is a challenge to keep swaddled at night! One morning we went in to get him up and he'd completely come out of his swaddle blanket, arms and everything! After that night we decided to use two blankets and swaddle him twice which has worked well. Good thing it's the winter time so he doesn't get too hot with two blankets. It will be a great day when we don't have to worry about swaddling him anymore!

- He is officially in 3-6 month clothes and has been for almost a month now. It's kind of sad that he is getting so big! (I know he's really not that big, but still!)

- He holds his head up really well even though he doesn't really like to do tummy time. He loves to sit or stand on our laps and look around. He's also a big fan of doing "super baby."

- Changing his diaper has become a bit tricky now because he likes to kick his legs so fast.

Haha, Drake decided he wanted to 

be swaddled like Asher 

Seriously, why do boys get the 

long and naturally curled lashes??

He's not 100% sure about the baby carrier yet.

Meeting his cousin Eden for the first time.

Froggy for Halloween

He thinks he's big

Super Baby!

Nugs on the couch, because he didn't 

want to nap in his room that day, or ever really!

The monkey!

We spent the day with Dana and the twins,

Tate wanted to help me pat Asher to sleep, so funny!

Jared is so proud of the Patagonia winter suit we got for him,

not sure how much we will use it, but it makes dad happy so oh well!

First time in the Bumbo, he's still too small for it, 

he fell over to the side right after this pic!

More monkey play time

Too cool

Always happy when daddy gets home

This is what his face looks like 90% of the time,

he always seems so perplexed about everything!

Learning to walk, ha

I am an idiot. . .

A few months ago when I was approximately 39 weeks pregnant, I wrote this post about how miserable the last few weeks of pregnancy are. I look back now and laugh because while those things are/were very true, I was a fool to think that pregnancy would be harder than having a baby. Now don't get me wrong, I love my little guy and I wouldn't trade having him for anything, but as I noted at the end of that post, I was an idiot to think that I'd be good at all this baby stuff. . .

Items 1-9 were written on a day when my child was not sleeping, fussy, extra needy and I was ready to pull my hair out by the time Jared got home. Even reading it a few days later I laughed at what I wrote because most of the time this stuff doesn't really cause me that much stress. I want to be able to get a good laugh out of it down the road again though, so as always, take anything I say with a grain of salt!

1) Childbirth.  I've already shared Asher's birth story, but there are just a few things they don't tell you about having a baby. Like the fact that the nurse will ask if you want to have a mirror so you can "watch" what is going on, and the doctor will ask if you want to "feel the baby's head" as you are trying to focus on pushing the dang kid out! Um, hello people, I've watched enough Baby Story on TLC to know that I sure as hell don't want to see my girl parts get ripped to shreds or touch my baby's head while he's still inside of me, that is just nasty!

2) Recovery. I was going to go into more detail because people don't warn you about this stuff, but let's just say that the aforementioned girl parts are going to take a while (and I mean A WHILE) to get back to "normal." Going to the bathroom for the first couple weeks after is a joke (and you better believe taking stool softeners is a dang good idea, don't be too good for the pills they give you!), having sex again hurts way worse than the first time, and you'd be smart to invest in some super maxi pads and just accept that fact that you are going to feel like a teenager again wearing those bad boys!

3) Breastfeeding. I still laugh at how all the nurses (some of who can't be more than 19 and definitely haven't ever had a kid!) and doctors just assume you are going to know how to breastfeed in the hospital. I'm a first time mom here, I don't have a clue what I'm doing! They swing into your room every 3 hours and ask you if you've fed your baby. Sure, if you consider shoving a boob into my baby's face to see if he sucks on it feeding, then yep, I've definitely fed him! My baby is a man (granted a small one) and men love boobs right?? It can't really be that hard! Ha, whatever. They don't tell you that when you get home, your baby is going to want to sleep for 6 hours at a time and not be interested in eating at all. So then you are going to get engorged because nobody tells you to make sure and wake your kid up and force him to eat or to buy the best breast pump on the market and pump like a madwoman if your little pill refuses to eat anyway! We never got the hang of breastfeeding. I pump and he drinks breast milk from a bottle. You might say I'm crazy, it's too much work, I'll loose my supply blah blah blah. Well it's been fine for almost 3 months now, and even though "breast might be best," I honestly won't be that devastated when we switch to formula, who really cares as long as my kid is being fed right?! Happy mom = happy everything, so just do what works for you and don't look back or feel guilty for crying out loud! 

4) Sleep.  Everybody knows that being parents to a newborn means you aren't going to get any sleep, it's just a simple fact. But I find myself thinking about sleep more than any other thing throughout the day, it's really pathetic. When should Asher sleep? How long should he sleep? Where should he sleep? Why won't he just bite the bullet and freaking fall asleep? Why is he awake, it's only been 45 min. . . he must be hungry. . . he must be poopy. . . he must be too hot, too cold. . . he must have had a bad dream (what the heck do babies dream about anyway?!). . . he must hate to sleep and he will never be a good sleeper because he can't take more than a stupid 45 minute nap during the day! Should I give him the bink? No, he can't have the bink because then he will become addicted and then I'll have to replace it every 5 min because he looses it and then he will grow up and turn into a 5 year old who still has to use the bink. . . my life is over. Those are just a few thoughts about sleep that run through my mind on a daily basis (good thing I'm aware of this and don't take myself too seriously. Ha!)

5) Nails. Why do babies have to be born with such long fingernails and with this burning desire to have to scratch their faces off every time they get pissed?? So then you have this dilemma. . . do I clip his nails so he doesn't do permanent damage to his face, or do I risk cutting his poor little fingers because those baby nail files really don't work that well and it's impossible for the little stinker to sit still for more than 2 seconds? Let's say we've made it through several rounds of clipping with only one tiny incident that involved the smallest amount of blood and screaming. . . sorry mom, I've already damaged your perfect grand baby ;) 

6) Poop and pee.  Here are some words of wisdom from first time parents who had to learn the hard way. If you have a boy, keep the wein down to prevent leaks, and keep a fresh diaper open and at the ready when changing to block the pee that will inevitably come shooting toward your face. Sure, they sell those little "teepee" covers at the store, but who really thinks that those things will stay on your wiggling child?! Your kid will definitely have the "I'm trying to poop" face and grunts, when this starts happening, slowly lift them off of your lap and hold them in the air to let them do their buisness. If they poop while sitting or laying on you, then it's a guaranteed blowout and a clothes change for both you and the baby because that poop has nowhere to go but up or out the sides of the diaper (the little man just had a blowout on Jared for this very reason as I was writing this, sucker!). Oh, and most of the time you will definitely hear when your baby poops, but watch out for those silent ones, they can deadly! 

7) Carseats. Who the heck invented those mousetraps and why do all babies hate them? I get it, "Safety First," but it's 2013, you'd think by now they would have come up with something a little more comfortable for babies and that don't turn into personal ovens (or am I the only one who has a baby that sweats in his carseat?? We could put him in there with only a diaper on and he'd probably still sweat in it!)

8) Swaddling.  Seriously, why can't babies be born with perfect coordination so they don't think hitting themselves in the face while sleeping is a good idea?? So you are left with this self-abusing baby who hates to be swaddled and wiggles around until he gets both arms out so he can keep hitting himself. . . our son probably needs therapy or something.

9) Social Life.  Jared and I are not the most social of people in the first place, but having a baby really puts a damper on any desire to go out and do anything. It's just too much work. Get baby ready, get diaper bag ready, hopefully remember to brush your teeth, realize baby pooped so change baby, put baby in carseat, watch as baby spits up on himself so wipe him up as best as you can, realize you forgot your shoes upstairs and listen to baby scream while getting shoes, put bink in, schlep baby and baby crap down to the car, see that the stupid mirror on the headrest is on wrong so spend 10 min trying to fix it while occasionally replacing the bink (like it honestly matters because even if you can see them crying, you can't do much for them while driving anyway!), start driving and say a bad word under your breath because you forgot the stroller, turn around and shove the stroller into the trunk, continue driving, finally make it to your sister's house to spend the afternoon and repeat while driving home listening to the little guy scream bloody murder because he just can't stand the damn carseat! Sounds like fun right?? (And I'm not even going to get started on grocery shopping, I've decided it's nearly impossible to get it done with a newborn!)

10) Attachment Anxiety.  Yes, having a baby is crazy, hard, overwhelming and ridiculously frustrating at times, but I seriously can't even explain how much I love my son. Although it will be nice when he's not quite so dependent on us to meet his every need, I dread every day because it means he is getting older and one day he's not going to need his mommy and daddy. We get him for the next 18 years or so and I hope that we can teach him how to be a good, responsible person. I want him to be happy. I want him to know God. I want him to marry a nice girl (who likes me please!). I want him to have a successful career. I want him to remember the importance of family. I want so many things for him, but I know that there is only so much we can teach him and ways we can influence him. One day he will grow up and have to make decisions for himself and decide the kind of person he wants to be. I hope that Jared and I can do enough to send him along the right path. He is so freaking cute, I just love him!


Well there you have it. I'm sure other first time moms have probably felt some of these same things and that moms of multiple children are laughing in my face and thinking, "just wait till you have the next one girlfriend!" Haha, I'll deal with that insanity when it comes and just enjoy the crazy life I have right now!

I really can't get over his adorableness, I just 

want to squeeze his guts out all of the time!!

Two Months

I can't believe another month has come and gone, totally crazy! I feel like I have this huge baby now, even though I know that he still isn't that big. Here are some things I want to remember about Asher at two months. . .

- At the doctor's today he weighed 12 lbs, which was in the 50th percentile, and came in at 23.5 inches long, in the 70th percentile.

- He is growing out of all of his 0-3 month clothes because he has such a long torso, which is just like Jared. My mom took pity on the poor kid and bought him several 3-6 month long sleeved things because I am too cheap and hadn't been out to get him any warmer things in a bigger size yet! 

- We usually give him a bath every other day or so, and he really likes those. I am not looking forward to when he is big enough to really make some big splashes though, I have a feeling bath time will be a bit of an adventure then.

- We started doing a bedtime routine with him that really helps settle him down at night. We feed him, do a bath, lotion and jammies, story time, song and then he's down for bed between 7:30 - 8:00. He's been great at falling asleep at night without fussing now. 

- He figured out how to sleep through the night a couple of weeks ago, hallelujah! He'd usually get up around 3 am to eat in the middle of the night, and then one night he slept until 4:30 and then the next he slept through until 6 am. He did this funny thing where he'd switch off between 4:30 and 6:00 every other night, but the past few days he's slept at least until six, so I'm hoping he is figuring it out better now! 

- Ironically, right when he started sleeping through the night, he decided that he didn't want to take good naps anymore. Before he was sleeping at least 1.5 hrs for each nap, and sometimes up to 2.5 hrs, and now we are lucky if he gets to 45 min without waking up. I have been trying to troubleshoot different things to help him nap better, but I've chalked it up to just being a phase and hoping he works it out soon. I am going to try the swing for the next few days and see if that goes better than having him nap in his crib, but who knows?!

- He has become alot more social the past few weeks (which is probably why his naps are worse!). He makes all sorts of cooing noises and smiles back at us which is super cute!

- He is still in size 1 diapers, but they are getting a little small on him, so once we make it through our current bag of 1's, we are going to move up to size 2. 

- The hair on the top of his head is starting to grow back now, he's currently got alot of fuzz there. We are glad the old main hairline is slowly fading!

- His eyelashes are starting to get thicker and curl just like Jared's, the girls are going to be jealous of this boy, he's got a good set of lashes! His eyes had been that newborn steele blue/grey, but we've been noticing that they are starting to look a little more brown around the the inside of his iris. Jared and I both have green/hazel eyes, so I am thinking his will probably be hazel too, but I guess we will see.

- He's made it through all three hours of church the past two weeks without having any major blowouts or meltdowns. I know those hard days will come, but I'll take this easy baby for now! 

- He still a really happy baby and only cries when he's hungry, wants to play or doesn't want to sleep.

- We survived our first road trip down to St. George this past weekend. He still doesn't like his carseat, but he does okay if he has his bink in. He ended up sleeping most of the way up and down, which was really nice.

- Speaking of the bink, we successfully weaned him off of it for bedtime and naps (although it took about a week and some tears). People probably think we are mean and/or crazy for not letting him have it to help him soothe himself for sleeping, but we decided it wasn't worth our sanity and the frustration of having to keep reinserting it every 2 min, especially in the middle of the night. We still give it to him when he's awake if he gets fussy though. 

- He still doesn't like to be swaddled, and he'd always get his little arms out when I used those bambo blankets. We started calling him Houdini! I decided to get him one of those miracle blankets (a.k.a "straightjacket") which does a good job of keeping his arms down, even though he somehow managed to get his legs out a few times! 

-  He's still a good little eater and does about 4.5 ounces every three hours. He does this cute thing when he's eating where he grabs one of our fingers and like holds on for dear life, so funny!

- He loves to stand. If we are ever holding him on our laps, he is constantly trying to jump up with his legs. He has started to hold his head up better, so it makes for a pretty fun little game for him to see how long he can hold his weight up.

- We finally pulled out the baby bouncer thing, and he loves it! There are these two little monkey toys that hang down from the top of it and he just sits and stares at those things. He obviously doesn't have a super long attention span, but those monkey's have definitely captured his attention. 

- I know that he's always known that Jared and I are his mommy and daddy, but even just in the past week I can tell that he recognizes who we are. He will look for us even when somebody else is holding him, and he seems to settle a little easier when one of us is holding him if he's fussy.

Well that's all I can think of for now! 

Asher loves his big cousin

He's always very smiley in the mornings

The monkey's he is so obsessed with.

Can't keep his leg in!

Haha, such a high maintenance eating pose

Long lashes

First pair of Nikes!