Chunky Monkey

Friday the 10th was Asher's one month check up... and my reality check.
THIS BOY IS GETTING CHUNKY!

Dr. Samarel our pediatrician is a wonderful family friend and I truly look forward to our visits in his office. Asher also loves him and is instantly calmed in his arms (which is so comforting to me!)... we will see if things stay that way after his first shot appt next month.

Asher was dead asleep when we got there. I had to get him undressed which he didnt seem to mind until we stretched him on the chart to get his height... oy boy did he let out a cry, more like a scream...bloody murder woman!

Asher stats:

21 1/2 inches - 25/50th percentile

10 lbs 2 oz - 75th percentile (pretty impressive for weighing 6 lbs 6 oz only 3 weeks ago!)

No head measurement, but its HUGE - 95th percentile!

Dr Samarel said that his measurements are great and confirmed that I must be giving him more than enough with his feedings. I have to be honest after prior weight loss I was concerned.

I have to keep an eye on his stomach problems because he might have a slightly unique case of "colic" or "reflux" that doesnt include the spitting up (thank goodness for now). His stomach gets rock hard, he screams and he tenses up. Its very distinct. The issue is he isnt going #2 often and we think this is part of it...when he goes, its a BLOW OUT... I mean OUT OF THE DIAPER, up the back soaking the clothes and me and results in a bath immediately as well as a load of laundry.

Now that he has put on some weight we are going to move to cloth diaper's.... WISH ME LUCK!

Im sure I will have many stories to tell as I make this journey to cloth!

A maternal diet might be the next thing on our lists (oy!). bye bye dairy.
oh how I love cheese, milk, chocolate and the list goes on.
but I love this boy oh so much more...

First Response WHAT?

I cant get over this.

I saw a commercial today for this "new product" and I couldnt be more annoyed.

After personally struggling with fertility and watching so many friends go through fertility struggles I just truly can't believe pee on a stick can truly tell you whether or not

"YOU ARE ABLE TO GET PREGNANT".

If it was THAT EASY to determine dont you think Fertility Specialists would be out of their jobs? This is very misleading and I can only imagine the millions that will dish out the dough for this product to be mislead.

Ugh, disgust.

I was a first response fan...but this did it for me.

4 weeks = 1 month!

Today Asher is 4 weeks old!

It is amazing how quickly he has grown in just a mere 4 weeks.

The first photo is from the day he was born. His head was half of Philip's hand.

The second photo is at 4 weeks (this is how happy he is when sleeping). His head is now the size of Philip's entire hand!

  

...and a few more just because he is so darn cute!

I get sweeter with kisses...

I am learning to pose...

This is Asher's "freak out" face. He throws his arm out like this when he is startled!

so yummy...

Friday is his 1 month check up... 

we are expecting quite a weight gain from the last appointment where he was 7 lbs 14 oz!

Our Patriotic Model!

How can we not fall in love with him when he makes faces like this....

and poses like this...

in his 4th of July spirited outfit for work!

I love the red and white seer sucker pants, white shirt and blue blazer.

We are sure it was hit... at least in our house.

Boy we sure love him!

Whale of a time!

We bought Asher (cough cough, us) a blow up pool for our backyard. Since he is too young for the big kids pool with chlorine and bacteria galore we decided he needed to experience pool time in his very own backyard... aka mommy sun tan time.

We bought a whale pool that spits up water at one end and has a tail to shade the little munckin at the other. Luckily he has his daddy's complexion and loves the sun (although we still have to keep him minimally exposed). From the first day we brought him home he was soothed by the heat and the sun. Any time he fusses you can bring him outside and his body goes limp and/or he stares at the sky. I believe this is because I laid out for the last 3 months of my pregnancy.

He will do anything and everything to be outside...so figured why fight it as long as it is not too much!? So, daddy blew up the whale pool and mommy took him for a dip. As you can see he was decked out in his pool gear and although the water was quite cold he didn't freak TOO much.

I'm ready...

Check out my new pool!

Mommy was giving me a pep talk!

Oh its not that bad....but that bath (aka spa) water is much warmer!

We have a feeling we will be spending lots of time in the pool by the looks of this face!

Sleepy Time

Any new baby loves their sleep....Asher is no different!

He LOVES his sleepy time...

We love watching him sleep and now that we figured out how to do more with the videos of him sleeping, we wanted to show them off!

The first clip is of Asher in the swing....The commentary says it all!

The second clip is Asher making all of his typical sleepy noises...while big sister Bella watches over him. She is in love with him and constantly watches over/protects him!

 

The many faces....

Kisses from Daddy Face

Laughing Face

Pouting (just like daddy!) Face

Smiling Face

Milk Drugged Face

These photos were all taken right after he was fed....hence the funny looks :)

Asher has been quite expressive this past few days.

He is officially 3 weeks and 1 day old!

He still has amazing head and neck control and constantly pulls away to look at you without flopping over. This has been the case since the day he delivered. Asher loves to ride in mommy's sling and listen to music. He also LOVES the sun and the heat and it calms him instantly (must be all that laying out mommy did while she was pregnant!)

He is beginning to smile regularly which is by far our favorite to watch.

We have been blessed with an Angel baby...even with the typical gas!

He sleeps 3-5.5 hours at a time at night and usually only gets up once a night. He takes 2-4 hour naps at least twice a day. He breast feeds like a champ and is packing on the lbs!

We are so obsessed with our little munckin!

Natursutten!

This is our new best friend.

Natursutten makes our quality of life better

Asher has been struggling with gas since he was born.

Go figure he is a product of his parents (yeah no secrets on this blog!)

Mylicon, Gas X for Newborns, Gripe Water all sound great and have cost us over $25

But they didnt work for our gas champion.

Natursutten was the solution to our problems.

It distracted him from the gas!

Yippe.

Happy Baby, Happy Parents!

I was not a fan of pacifier's, but really had no reason to feel this way.

I was a thumb sucker. I sucked my thumb till I was 12. Yup. 12.

I knew one thing. I didnt want him to be a thumb sucker.

Make up your mind already, lady...right!?!?!

So here we are... with the best of the best for our little man...

Natursutten All-Natural Rubber Orthodontic Pacifier

All Natursutten pacifiers are made from pure, natural rubber from the tree Hevea brasiliensi.  It is the only all-natural organic pacifier in the world.  The Danish word Natursut means "Natural Pacifier" and each pacifier conforms to the Pacifier Safety reccomendations by the European standard EN 1400. This unique rubber is softer than silicone, and extremely hygienic due to the fact that it is molded in one piece, allowing no cracks or joints for dirt or bacteria to accumulate.   The larger shield is designed to touch baby's nose, providing comfort by more closely simulating breastfeeding.  Natursutten pacifier's shield is larger than conventional shields in order to prevent babies from squeezing the flexible material enough to get it inside their mouth.  It will also not leave marks on babies' face.  The Natursutten pacifier contains no artificial coloring, no chemical softeners, no parabens, no PVC, no phthalates and is BPA (bisphenol-A) free. 

Working out?

  

12 days post delivery...

my stomach is shrinking.

I confess. I miss the gym. 

My new work out is breast feeding and walking the dog up the street and back.

My night sweats make me re-live that feeling of sweating everything out at the gym.

Lovely huh?

More like gross...

No one tells you this stuff when your pregnant.

No one tells you what to expect after you deliver.

Not impressed.

It will be at least another 4-6 weeks before I can even look at the gym let alone attempt to do something at the gym. I can barely walk up the street and back with the dog right now, thanks to my lovely tear which resulted in an infection. Oh Happy Days. I am broken.

I am so in love with Asher... 

I couldn't even imagine leaving him to go to the gym right now anyway.

We are in trouble

Today Asher is 2 weeks old.

Today Asher rolled over from his back to his stomach 

during morning play time

and then

during nap time 

in his pak n' play

from his stomach to his back

I tried to catch the roll on video but of course I missed it.

We are in trouble...rolling at 2 weeks?

Seriously child, slow down PLEASE...!