School day

Today was the first day I have been able to take Gav to school in months....alone! Thankfully Dayle was able to take him the entire time I was on bed rest...and then when I was able to go again after I was 36 weeks pregnant, I needed help! I was so weak and could not keep up with Gav...so thankfully both "Ma's" were able to help out:)

Ma watched Austin for the morning so it was just Gavin and momma...felt so so nice:) Thank you Ma!

Gavin was king of the outdoors...as usual. He even helped find a banana slug...one of his proudest moments showing that off!

I really cherish this special time I get to spend with him...it's so nice to be able to "observe" him and watch him interact with all his friends, teachers, and nature:)

A smile

Its amazing how quickly babies change. Mr. Austin is changing so much, so fast. I can't keep up.

He is starting to smile and interact with us. He will "talk" to us and coo like there is no tomorrow. It is such a sweet noise. I love it.

He is no longer a newborn, and is now such a "baby" now. He no longer has a "fussy" time in the evenings, and is always a pretty happy baby...as long as he eats when he wants it and sleeps when he wants to! He is even on somewhat of a little schedule during the daytime...or at least we are, and he fits right in. He is definitely on a schedule at night, and he did that one all on his own! As long as we feed him a few times, he is good.

He has been taking lots of little naps throughout the morning while we are out places, and then he takes a large nap in the afternoon from about 1 to 5ish. He sleeps on his belly, unswaddled, and he loves it. I feel comfortable with him on his belly during the day because I have a video monitor on him, so I can see what he is doing...Gavin only has been sleeping about an hour and a half for his nap, so when he gets up we are able to spend time together. We watch CG, eat a snack, prepare dinner together, and play outside...all while Mr. A is fast asleep. Its a special time for us.

At night A is swaddled up, and he sleeps well like this too...so we are just doing what works...only problem, we only have one size large swaddle....the rest are small, and he is getting too big! We will see what happens. Hard to change something that is working well!

Austin still spits up quite a bit, but it does not really bother him much. He loves to eat, and is a great nurser. He will nurse anywhere with any noise...at this age Gavin would only nurse in a quiet place...which made it hard to be out anywhere. Gavin was also almost 2 pounds heavier at this age...they are such different boys!

Gav calls him "Mr. Austin" now instead of "Mr. fussy pants" :) These boys make me such a happy mama!

Happy Hollow Zoo

Took the boys to the zoo today. Weather was beautiful and the boys were so good....I am one very lucky mama:)

Breast Milk Jaundice

I knew it! Austin is still a little jaundice, and we went to have his levels tested this morning...16.6! It is all unconjugated bilirubin, which is good news! (conjugated bili would be bad, that would mean that the liver has a problem)

He has always been a little orange/yellow, and in his eyes you really notice it. I had the third person tell me that his "eyes looked yellow" so I thought we better call Dr. C. Of course she said it probably no big deal, but we will have hime checked to be sure. 99% of the time it is just "breastfeeding Jaundice" or "breast milk jaundice" and 1% if the time it is a liver issue...so we checked of course. 

It is totally normal, and the reasons are totally unknown. For some reason, it takes breast milk longer to clear out the bili...opposed to formula. A long time ago, doctors would recommend feeding the baby formula to "get rid of it" but that is not done much these days...not needed to. One theory is that breastfed babies nurse at different time intervals...sometimes every hour, sometimes every 2-3 hours...just depends. That makes the volume of BM different, and sometimes its never a large amount. If the baby is formula fed, it is usually fed a set amount, every 3 or 4 hours...and the volume is larger....causing the bill to "flush" out faster....(?? just a theory) Seems completely unnatural if you ask me! There is no research that shows that an elevated bill level at 2 and 3 months is harmful....just makes the babies appear a little more yellow! SO it may hang around for a little longer...and thats fine.

SO the next time someone says my baby looks "MEXICAN" I will inform them its just a little jaundice! 

My 6AM wake up...

My Gavin

I just don't know where to start. Gavin is hilarious. Seriously, I find myself laughing almost all day long. The things he says, and the way he says them. He hears everything, and repeats everything. Big words, little words, words that he has no idea the meaning. He will just say and do the funniest things. The only reason that I am not completely insane at the moment (lack o sleep) is because he makes me smile and laugh all the time. Thank you Gavin.

Just a few things he has done recently:

The other day when he fell for the first time off his balance bike, he stayed on the ground, and immediately grabbed his shoe and was messing around with it. We asked him if he was OK, and if he hurt his foot? He said, "No, Davin was just down here tyin his shoe!" HAHAHAHA We were on the ground laughing. What??? He was not! He does not even have ties on his shoes, they are velcro! He pretended that he did not fall, and he was just "tyin his shoe" :)

When we went to Balloon Cuts today to get his haircut, he told the lady "Thanks for cutting Davin's hair, it looks AWESOME!!! See you next year!!!" HAHAHA What? Awesome? Did not know he knew that word. And love the next year....he has no idea how long that means:)

While at the grocery today, he did some funny things. He always pushes his own cart, and helps me pick out each and every fruit and veggie. He ran straight to the spinach and told me "We need SPINACH for our BOOTIES!!!!" (smoothie) :) I told him we already had spinach, and he said "Oh, well then we need more KALE for our bootie!!!" He was right, we were out of kale...and you would not believe the crowd of people watching and listening to him! They were all amazed that he knew the greens so well:) Then, while we were checking out, Gavin hands EACH and every item in the cart to the cashier. He then tells the cashier what each item is, and what it is used for. At Lunardi's they all love Gavin! As Gavin was passing the items to the cashier, I was putting them in my basket...and Gavin noticed this and said, "Look, we are all doing TEAMWORK!!!!" He loves when "teamwork" happens! So funny.

One not so funny thing? I have had THREE people in the last few weeks ask me if my toddler was TEETHING! Why? He puts any and everything in his mouth! I am talking everything. Hands, toys, you name it, and he has it in his mouth. Its discusting. I probably say "Hands out OF MOUTH" or "DONT put that in your mouth!!!" about 100 times a day. Seriously child, STOP! I don't know why he does not get sick ALL the time! It must be the echinacea that I give him...he has to have some good immunity with all the c#$% he puts in his mouth! Just yesterday? The straps in the cart at costco, YUCK! Today? The toy frogs at gym class (that all 100 germy/snot nose kids play with) YUCK! When will this stop???

Oh Gavin, He sure makes me laugh! (most of the time:) Life with Gav is one big adventure for sure!

Austin 6 Weeks old

Mr. Austin is already six weeks old. Time is going fast these days...and he is changing so much each day. Just in the last week he has become a different baby...not as fussy and demanding...and more observant and calm.

We think he is outgrowing his "reflux" stage, and getting better now that he is getting bigger. He is not "barfing" as Gavin says, as much these days. Of course sometimes it will surprise us, but its not all day long! Mr. Austin still nurses on demand throughout the day, sometimes every 2 hours and sometimes every 3. At night he has been pretty consistent and has one bottle at midnight, and then nurses at 3 or 4 and then 5 or 6...so its not so bad! Thankfully, Derek is the one to give him a bottle at midnight, so I can get a chunk of sleep...the difference of night and day when I am able to get at least 4 hours of solid sleep! It is SO amazing and I am forever thankful to Derek:)

Austin is so much more alert now. He wants to be held facing outward, so he can see everything. He is super strong, and can hold his head up too. We no longer hold him like a newborn, we hold him like an infant...where did my newborn go???

He loves to watch his brother, look at his black and white pics, be outside, and be talked to. He is just now starting to really be interested in our faces, and voices. He is giving us little smiles here and there, and starting to "talk" to us. Such a sweet little guy.

We spend a lot of time on the go, and Austin is a great little traveler. He will go along with anything, and is pretty easy. As long as he is fed, and has his paci, he is good! He LOVES to be outside, and we spend a lot of time at parks..we can't wait for it to get a little warmer so we don't need blankets and jackets!

Austin still has a little jaundice left over. He was never "jaundice" according to the doctors, but it was there slightly. Sometimes it takes a few months for "breastfeeding jaundice" to go away, but I will be calling Dr. C to make sure. We may want to do some blood work if its not all the way gone soon. We sill see what she says. He is eating like crazy, pooping/peeing like crazy, and gaining weight, so those are all good signs.

We could not ask for a better big brother for Austin. Gavin is so patient with me when I need to feed Austin, and he has yet to get jealous. He totally understands whats going on, and is so helpful. If Austin starts crying, Gavin will come to me and tell me to "pick baby up, he is frying!" :) Or the best is "Hurry up, we need to hurry and get baby in the stroller so he does not start frying!" He often says "Look! Baby is HAPPY!!!!" :) Such a sweet big bro!

So far, Austin has done a LOT by 6 weeks! Museum, parks, grocery, shopping, friend houses (Gavin's), playdates, gym class, long walks, dcotors visits, and much more. We are so in love with him, and so thankful for him and his health. We are so lucky:)