Long Post - Sorry!!

These past two weeks have kind of been a blur.  On the 14th we went to the GA CHIP at Belks which is a free program put on by the Georgia Masons.  They gather all this information about your child like weight, height, hair color, finger prints, DNA and then put it on a CD so just in case your child is ever kidnapped the police will have all the necessary information quickly.  It's really scary to think about but also really important.  They had a bunch of other kid things going on but Gavin was WAY to young to enjoy them.  After that we went to Clay's parents and Gavin got lots of love from his Nanny-Ma and Pa-Pa and cousin Kaleigh.  Sorry for the picture quality, I think we must have had the camera on the wrong setting without realizing it.

From 2010-08-14

We also broke down and bought a humidifier that weekend.  Gavin has had a cough and runny nose for like a month but it didn't get that bad until that weekend, so Clay hit Target late night, or at least late night for us :-). We also tried propping the head of his bed up with books, but he rolls all the way to the bottom which kind of defeats the purpose. Unfortunately he got a lot worse this past Saturday night.  Clay being the amazing husband that he is, got up with him all throughout the night so needless to say we did not make it to church the next morning.  That morning while I was feeding him, the poor baby started coughing so hard he threw up!  It broke my heart and grossed me out at the same time.  About an hour after that he did the same thing so I knew that we needed to try something else.  We are super blessed to have a friend whose children have seen more than their share of the inside of the doctors office and just so happened to be running late for church which made her be able to get my text.  She gave me some calming words and the hours of the walk-in clinics here in town, thanks Aunt E!  I was still kind of hesitant to take him in since Gavin didn't have a fever and all the books say not to worry if they don't have a fever.  So we called another friend of ours who is a PA and asked her what to do.  I felt so guilty doing this because I felt like we were taking advantage but I really didn't want to take him in if we didn't need to.  So luckily she asked Clay lots of questions and then told us she would have the doctor call in some cough medicine.

 Let me stop right here to tell you that I have been a customer of the Rite Aid on the corner of Inner Perimeter and North Oak Street for a long time, but in the last couple of weeks, the service has gone into the pooper!!!  I spent so much time there last week getting various prescriptions I felt like they should have been paying me!  Then after an hour wait when they guarantee 15 minutes, they didn't have the correct amount so I was told I would have to come back on Monday. When I came back and waited FOREVER in line she told me she was sorry but I would have to come back next Monday because she still didn't have any in (this was after she told me last week that she had already ordered it)!!!  Furious!!!  Thank you for letting me vent :-)

So anyway Gavin has been on the mend but keeping us up a lot at night with his hacking cough so when I was trying to fall back asleep last night this verse came to my mind.   

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Mathew 11: 28-30

 That has always been one of my favorite verses, it really brings peace to me.

When I saw Gavin looking at Clay like this, it just melted my heart!!
Cute boy after a bath!


Yesterday we also made our first trip the the semi-annual kids clothing sale at Mathis City Auditorium.  I could not believe how much stuff was in there and yesterday was the next to last day, I can only imagine how packed it was on Monday!  We got a jumperoo for $25, see pictures and video of Gavin below, a bag of books for $3, and then a bunch of clothes for $15!  I will definitely be going back in the spring.

Just click on the picture below and it should take you to Picasa where the video should start. Clay had tried putting books under Gavin's feet because we weren't sure he was tall enough but he quickly kicked them out of the way and started jumping.



Below are cute pictures/video of Clay and Gavin talking and playing together last night.  Gavin LOVES playing with his Daddy.  Mommy is good for hugs and snuggles, but it really boring compared to Daddy!  Oh well, guess I better get used to it now, because I'm sure it will only get worse :-).  Clay is also trying to get him to stand up on his own.  Gavin has definitely got the strength in his legs but hasn't quite mastered the balance part yet.  I truly won't be surprised if he walks before he crawls.  I really wish I had some pictures of him walking with Clay holding his hands the other night, it was really funny, Clay kind of helps him put one foot in front of the other :-)
Notice he is standing on his own and Clay just has his one hand and his clothes for balance!

From 2010-08-25

Just click on the picture below and it should take you to Picasa where the video should start

Talkative little booger isn't he!

Welcome to My Own Little Story

Welcome to My Own Little Story

I got this link off of a blog that I follow and then started my own book for Gavin. It is so easy and takes you through every month to document all the wonderful things your baby does before and after you have them.

3 months old!!

I know I say this every month, but I really can't believe it has been 3 months.  In some ways, I feel like Gavin has been apart of our lives forever but in other ways it seems like just yesterday that he was born.  Especially when I look at my self in the mirror, sob, sob.  Oh well, I am doing absolutely everything I can short of pills and surgery so I guess I just have to be patient or go get a prescription :-).

This has been a big month for my little love bug (bug for short), I know the nickname is terrible, but I can't help it!    It's better than the one Clay came up with, which I will not even mention!

I think that he is developing a sense of taste, or at least that is the only thing I can relate to his need to stick all of his toys into his mouth.  He tries to grab and hold everything, things that aren't stationary still give him a little trouble.  You can almost see the wheels turning in his head as he slowly reaches out to grab whatever toy is swinging from his car seat.  It still takes him a couple of tries usually, but he is getting better and better everyday.  One thing that he doesn't seem to have a problem grabbing and holding on for dear life to is my hair!  Thankfully this doesn't happen too often because my little bug has quite a grip!

He can now sit up all by himself in his Bumbo chair which he is starting to enjoy more and more. And as you can probably see from the picture he is also starting to drool ALOT.  Not exactly sure why, I don't think he is supposed start teething for quite awhile.

Gavin has started to laugh, barely.  He will only do it every once in a while and it only lasts a second.  He smiles ALL THE TIME, which melts my heart, but really hasn't gotten into the laughing thing yet although you can tell when he thinks things are funny, like his Daddy making noises at him.

 As you know from my last post, he has also started rolling over, which I am happy to report he has gotten used to so we are now back to our normal sleep pattern.  I have been using the sleeping on his belly as an excuse for not making him have belly time at night, not sure if that is ok or not.  There is so much guilt wrapped up in being a parent!

He is also "talking" our ears off!  He is especially talkative in the mornings and late evenings and really chatters when he is getting his diaper changed.  He has the most serious looks on his face sometimes and then does this move with his head like "are you listening to me??"  I'm sure you can not even begin to picture it from my awesome description :-).  But trust me it is super cute and funny.

Gavin's and also my latest achievement was his first night and weekend away. We had a wedding to go to in Savannah this past weekend that just happened to start at the same time as Gavin's last feeding and bedtime. If it were not for this I probably would have attempted to bring him with us, which I am sure would have been miserable for all involved! So my parents agreed to keep him and met us up here to pick him up Friday. I dreaded it all week and said many, many prayers. I knew Clay and I needed some time alone together but that didn't make it any easier to leave Gavin. Well we loaded my parent's van down with everything Gavin could possibly want or need and then we headed off to Savannah. I won't bore you with the details of our trip but I was very proud of myself I only called home twice a day, didn't shed ANY tears, and didn't try and make Clay leave for Thomasville after the wedding Saturday night. We had a wonderful time together and I really enjoyed my first and hopefully not last trip to Savannah. Gavin got spoiled rotten and he told us several times after we picked him up that he wanted to go back to his Me-Me and Pa-Pa's where he was appreciated :-).

Beautiful church steeple downtown Savannah

  

New Milestone, less sleep

At 11 weeks and 1 day Gavin reached a new milestone, rolling over!  However..... Gavin also does not like being on his belly.  He DETESTS belly time and I have not been as good as I should be in forcing him to do it.  My excuse is that I barely see him during the week, only for a couple of hours each night and I would much rather be snuggling him instead of making him cry.  Although, lately I have been better about it but sadly only because I saw a picture of a friend's baby who is only a couple weeks older than Gavin propped up on his elbows and "reading".  I knew then that I had to suck it up and listen to the screams for at least a few minutes every night for his own best interests.

One of the happier belly moments

Well apparently it worked because Thursday morning about 6:30 I heard him start crying.  I thought it a little strange since he normally doesn't get up until 7 and then he is either asleep still or just laying quietly in his bed looking around.  Well when I walked in there he was on his belly, all swaddled up.  He had done this once before when he was two weeks old but I consider that a fluke since it took him nine more weeks to do it again.  So last night I didn't swaddle him because him being swaddled, which prevents him from using his arms, and being on his stomach makes me nervous.  He went down fine and slept really good, which I was very surprised about, I thought we would get more of a fight from him about not being swaddled, since that is usually a major requirement for him to sleep.  Well at 3:50 this morning he started screeching, Clay runs in there and he is on his belly again flailing around like a little fish out of water.  So he flips him over and puts his pacifier back in and all returns to normal until 5, and then again at 5:30 and then again at 5:45, I finally told Clay we had to just let him cry it out or we would be up and down every night with him because he would never learn just to deal with being on his belly or to flip himself back over.  We are super proud of our little boy and his new achievement but truly hope that he learns to love being on his belly or picks up the rolling back over skill VERY quickly!!

happy boy getting ready to go learn about Jesus!

Livin the life!

Science Turns Authoritarian — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

I have no idea who this guy is or if this magazine is credible but the article is interesting either way (or at least it was to me :-)).

Science Turns Authoritarian — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

2 month check up

Gavin had his 2 month check up this morning.  He was a very sweet boy and gave big smiles to all the nurses at least until he got his shots.

For the records:
Weight - 14 lbs - 90th percentile
Length - 24 in - 75th percentile
Head Circumference - 16 in - 50th percentile

Gavin did a whole lot better with the shots than I thought he would.  He only cried for a minute once the shots were over.  I thought he would have screamed like a banshee like he did last night after I gave him a bath.  This boy does NOT like to be cold!!!!

The doctor said he was doing just great. And we won't have to go back until September for his 4 month visit, were he will have to get more shots!  He is going to develop a complex about going to the doctor with all these needle pricks!

His feeding schedule is:
6 ounces (all formula) at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7:30 pm

2 months old

Gavin turned two months old on Monday, I swear he is changing everyday. Just in the past week since I updated the blog last he has started sleeping thru his 5 am feeding. We are having to wake him up at 7. This is a huge blessing because it gives us time to do our P90X workouts before we have to feed him. Which by the way are totaling killing me!!  I know this sounds funny but him sleeping so well, actually kind of makes me sad because I miss getting to hold him all of the time, I feel like I never see him during the week.  We wake him up right as I am leaving in the morning and then when I pick him up from daycare I have about 30 minutes to play with him before he gets fussy and takes a nap and then he eats and goes right back to bed around 7:30 or 8.  Oh well, I guess that makes me cherish our time together on the weekends even more.  I sure do love the little booger :-)

From 2010-07-14

Clay got the cutest video of him talking last night, not sure if you can really hear it over the Office re-run playing in the background :-)

From 2010-07-14

Pray for us on the 20th at 8:45, Gavin is getting his first set of shots and I am not real sure how either of us is going to do!