A Sad Day

Yesterday was a sad day: I packed all of Warren's newborn clothes. He didn't even get to wear one of the outfits because of how many he had! (Thanks, Mom!) He is definitely in zero to three now, and even though he still has a zillion outfits (again, thanks, Mom!), I just had to buy him the one he has on in the pic below; it says "My Peanut," and that's what my mom calls Warren, so I couldn't pass it up. We finally broke down and bought a swing for Warren. It is portable and low to the ground, so it doesn't take up much space. He does seem to like it, though he still prefers that we hold him - we usually give him what he wants!

Seeing that Warren is 12lbs now, he can finally wear this super cute puppy sleeper. I got Roy to snap a pic of me with my sweet boy.

Here's another pic to show the silly faces Warren makes. Also, we have discovered that his left ear sticks out farther than his right, and you can see that in this pic. Funny thing is, Roy's left ear does the same thing, but neither of us ever noticed! Wow, this kid really is his daddy reincarnated!

I made this!!!!! We had some friends over last night, and I made this very sinful chocolate cake. It's truly amazing, if I do say so myself. Roy thought it was "presentable," so he was willing to take a pic for me to post. LOL

I have only two days of school left. One is parent conferences and the other a teacher work day. I am feeling my summer freedom!

8 Week Check Up

12lbs (76th percentile), 22.5in (30th-something percentile)

I never really knew what the whole percentile thing means, but the doc said it means that 76% of babies weighed less at 8 weeks than Warren does, and 30-something% were less than 22.5in in length. So he's chunky but decent height.

Doc said Warren looks good, and he was surprised at how much weight he had gained. He couldn't get his shots today because my insurance won't cover them until next week, so we have to go back then. Apparently his circumcision is trying to undo because the doc said the skin is trying to reattach around the head, so now we have to be sure and pull it back every diaper change so that it does not reattach. Weird. LOL

On a wonderfully positive note... Warren has slept through the night 4 times in a row!!!! Last night he slept from 9p - 5a!!!! I hope he sticks with this pattern because I am loving the sleep.

Random Things

My mom left for home on Saturday. It was so great to have her helping with Warren while I was back to work. She calls Warren "Peanut" and we call her "Grammie." She got some cute pics while visiting, so I have to share:

I never get tired of seeing this smile!

Warren enjoys being in water - until I start washing his hair! This pic is actually his 2nd bath. The red ring around his belly was from his pants, just in case you are wondering. No, they were not really tight; I am not sure why they left such a noticeable mark.

After his bath, Grammie wrapped him up tight and kept him warm.

I realized that I didn't have many pics of me with Warren, so Mom made sure and fixed that.

Warren really likes to fix his eyes on me - I LOVE that! I get to talk to him and watch him smile at me and coo. I stick my tongue out at him, and he will stick his out at me. That's what we were doing in the pic below.

The pic below really shows how red (and thin!) Warren's hair is right now. Doesn't he have a great smile?!!! Warren has slept for 6hrs at night for a few days now. He goes down about 10:30pm and wakes about 4:30am to eat. Nice. I am finally feeling like I have a grip on things and I am not always sleep deprived. Unfortunately Warren seems to be off schedule tonight, but that's okay. One thing I've learned about babies is that just when you think they are developing a pattern, they change it up on you!

Cleo seems to have relapsed with feeling left out. For the past three days she has torn something up while we are gone. Today it was Warren's pacifier, yesterday it was my chapstick, and the day before was a candy wrapper. We are trying hard to make a conscious effort to give her extra attention.

I had to buy clothes on Saturday because I had no shorts that fit me. I can't get any of my pre-pregnancy pants past my thighs, and I can't survive a Texas summer in maternity jeans, so I put myself through the misery and went shopping. I had to buy all size 14s! I have never been this big before, but my friends keep assuring me that I will go back to normal by nine months. I am keeping my fingers crossed, for sure.

We took some pics of our new family of four while mom was here. It's really tough to get a baby and a dog to look at the camera at the same time!

What Is Warren Doing These Days?

This week my mom has been here. It has been helpful to Roy, so he can have time to catch up on his work for his professor, and it has also given her a chance to hang out with Warren, or Peanut - as she calls him. She hasn't taken many pics of him yet, but here are a few. Notice how much bigger he is?

He still makes funny faces!

When I came home from my first day of work, Warren gave me a big smile! It looked similar to this one, and just melted my heart.
I am sure all parents think their child is advanced, but mine IS!!! LOL Warren has been growing up so much these past few weeks, I can't even call him a newborn anymore. He is 7 weeks old today, and while I know his developments are very much average, they are all amazing to me, revealing that Warren is super smart already. Humor me...

1) While lying on his stomach, Warren can now move his head from side to side! (This means he can sleep on his stomach more often, which he likes to do.)

2) If we stick our tongue out at Warren, he will stick his tongue out at us, too!

3) Tonight I was waving at Warren (opening and closing my hand) and he started moving his fingers on his right hand as he watched mine. (No, it was NOT just a coincidence, don't even go there! LOL)

4) Warren can blow spit bubbles.

5) Warren holds up his head for minutes at a time. In fact, today he held up his entire chest and head for minutes - kind of like a push up.

6) Warren can straighten his legs and stand on them for several seconds at a time.

7) Warren smiles in response to our smiles and/or talking to him.

8) Warren coos

9) Warren likes to lie on the floor and watch T.V.

10) Warren likes to nap while being held - if we put him down, he wakes up and looks at us with his big eyes!

Regarding physical growth, Warren is about 10lbs and 23" long. He is now wearing 0-3mth clothing, and he drinks 4-6oz at his feedings. Last night he even slept for 6hrs straight! Next Tues. is his 8 week appointment. Poor guy has to get three shots. :( His daddy is going to take him because I will still be in school.

Warren's New 'Do

The other day I was rubbing lotion into Warren's scalp (because it's peeling), and he ended up with somewhat of a Mohawk. I thought it was so cute I started combing it like that daily. I took some pics so you could get an idea of his new look:

The pic below doesn't show his hairdo, but I thought the pic was too cute not to post it.

I went back to work today. I was excited to see the kids, and they were glad to see me, too, which was nice. I was fine emotionally because Roy was home with Warren, so I didn't have to worry about him not getting attention or care. My mom is coming into town for a week on Saturday. We can't wait to see her!

BTW - Warren weighs about 10lbs now!!! He also lost his umbilical cord today - FINALLY! His belly button looks kinda funky, if you ask me, but hopefully it will begin to look normal soon. I am so excited to give him a real bath tonight!

Baby Warren

I took a few pictures of Warren today. He is changing and growing so much. I think he may end up with auburn hair like his Uncle Adam and Aunt Sumer. He has quite a bit of red showing up. He still makes the funniest faces and makes me laugh everyday. Yesterday he smiled at his daddy for the first time! It was great. Enjoy the pics...

Roy's nickname for Warren is "Captain Fliptop" because when he yawns he opens his mouth so wide it looks like it could flip backward. These two show this feature perfectly! LOL

One of his silly but adorable faces! Look at those rolls under his chin!

Even though there is a shadow, you can see how his hair sticks up in the back!

So should we take a vote? Whom does Warren look most like - me or Roy?

A Super Long Blog Post: The Update

Birthday Boy

Warren is five weeks old today! Yesterday he smiled at me for the first time, and of course it made me cry. He has two little dimples, and the cutest smile ever! He is now eating about 4oz per feeding, which is about every three hours. He is in the 8-14lbs diapers now, and he has only a couple of weeks left, I think, before he outgrows his newborn clothes. Last week he weighed 8lbs 6oz. His umbilical cord has not yet fallen off; it's holding on for dear life, I guess.

I was taking pics of Warren after he had eaten, which I guess was a bad idea because all of the moving around caused a reaction: ...I know it's gross, but it was such perfect timing, I just had to post it.

Warren's First Road Trip: 8hrs to Ponca City

Last Sunday, April 26th, I came up with the crazy last minute idea of taking Warren to Okla. to visit our families - and so I did! We left the next day (my mom's birthday!). It took us 8hrs total, but two of those hours were from us stopping to eat and stretch. (No, Roy didn't go with us; it was just Warren and me. Roy's semester at Baylor is not over yet, and he had papers to write.) Warren slept the whole time in the car both there and back! I couldn't have asked for an easier trip.

The only members of our family that had seen Warren were my mom and sister, so it was great to see everyone with him. Below are some pics from our trip:

At first, my dad thought Warren was too little to hold. He said several times, "He's not much bigger than a minute." But mom put Warren in his arms and dad melted. Warren liked it too! He always fell asleep within minutes when Grandpa had him! Grandpa also taught Warren "The Poop Song" - and Warren pooped on him!

My dad will be the only grandpa Warren will know because Roy's dad passed away several years ago. Grandpa Van would have loved him something awful, too, though, and it is sad for us that they will never meet. I am glad Warren carries his name.

Grammy thinks Warren is wonderful, of course. She calls him "Peanut." He spent lots of time sleeping on her, too.

My grandma with Warren.

Grandma Nina (Roy's mom) met Warren and came over nearly everyday on her lunch hour to see him.

Aunt Cristy (Roy's sis) taught me to pump Warren's legs to help him get rid of gas. Unfortunately, he cried much of the time we visited her, Keara, and Uncle Adam (I have no idea why I don't have a pic of Warren w/him. I KNOW I took one!) Keara (3) kept asking to hold Warren. She didn't seem to mind that he was crying.

Aunt Sumer (Roy's youngest sister) came over and held him for awhile. He was very alert at the time, but a little later started crying uncontrollably because he had been manhandled too much that day. Poor guy.

Saturday morning we went to see my sister and her family. Sarah just adored Warren and barely left his side. She sang "You Are My Sunshine" to him, and he just stared at her. It was super sweet.

John took a little longer to take an interest in his cousin Warren. I think it was because I had teased him about changing Warren's diaper. He really wanted to teach him how to build with Legos. LOL

Saturday evening Warren and I drove down to Tulsa/Broken Arrow and stayed the night with Grandma Brown who was totally gaga over Warren!

While at Grandma Brown's, Warren also got to meet his Great-Aunt Janice and her kids, except for Ashley (We missed you, Ashley.) They all just adored him, and I think he liked the attention, too.

Second Cousin Amber

Second Cousin Haley

Second Cousin Hope

Second Cousin Zach

While in Okla., Warren also met his Great-Grandma Garton, Great-Grandpa Boyles, Great-Aunt Donna and Second Cousin Madison, and his Uncle Steve. We are sad that he didn't get to meet his Uncle Gregg, but we'll be going back to Okla. mid-June, so he will then.

Cleo and Warren

Many people ask how Cleo is doing with Warren. She is doing well overall. It is funny because she always looks for him when we come home; she has to smell him in his carrier. When Warren is upstairs, and I bring Cleo up, she just has to smell him in his crib. Otherwise she mostly ignores him and has accepted him as another part of our family. She no longer hides under a blanket when Warren cries, so I guess she has made progress!

From Breast to Formula

Warren is now on formula only. The short of it is I just couldn't keep up with his eating needs. Mornings were great, and Warren would get what he needed, but by the afternoon, my body was just not producing enough milk, and Warren was wanting to eat every 30mins-1hr, and he was very fussy and often cried. I tried supplementing with formula, and it made a HUGE difference. So much so that we decided to put him on formula only. He was so satisfied and peaceful after having formula that I just couldn't keep that from him. He is doing great on it, and all of his jaundice cleared up within two days, as well as he started pooping on his own. He is even sleeping better. It is kind of sad to no longer be breastfeeding him, but it is really nice, too; I can eat and drink whatever I want, and it is much easier to go out now because I don't have to worry about his feeding times or whether or not there will be a place to nurse him.

A Twenty Dollar Hand Job

In the past I had posted about my pumping issues, which never improved. I only ever got about half an ounce to an ounce from each breast. So when I pumped 4oz, I just had to take a pic. Here's the story: I didn't bring my pump to Okla. because I had no plans to use it; however, when I decided to supplement with formula, I needed to pump, so I went to the store and bought a $20 hand pump. The crazy thing is it worked better than my $200 electric double breast pump!!! Ugh! Probably it was due to the fact that I was so full and it was morning time, but still, I found it fascinating that I could actually pump that much at one time.

When I decided to go formula only, I was not prepared for the pain and leakage that accompanied not nursing or pumping. It felt like there were rocks in my breasts, and they were so sore I couldn't even hold Warren close without cringing. Thankfully that only lasted about three days. Now my breasts are soft again, not leaking, and only a little sore. They are still bigger than my old "A" cup size, so for that I am glad! LOL

The Future

I can't believe 5 weeks have passed already. My 6wk checkup is next Tuesday, and I go back to work/school on the 13th. My mom is coming the 16th-23rd. Roy will watch the baby the rest of the time. He does so well with him, I really don't need to worry ... much. :) Roy's mom and grandma hope to come down in July, and then school starts up again in August. That's when Warren will start daycare. But for now, we are focusing on today and enjoying every moment we have with our precious son.