Christmas and other things!

Well, the first set of Christmases have come and gone. That's right, I said the first set. ;-) With our big family we have multiple Christmas celebrations. This year we were so lucky to have my mom and my dad both come in to visit. Clayton was very spoiled by both, of course! Not to mention little miss Reagan who made out pretty nicely herself! ;-) We spent our actual first Christmas day as a family at our house. We haven't been at our house for Christmas in, well, forever! It was nice to wake up and come out to open presents in our pj's! We invited over Darren's parents and Granny so that they could come see Clayton open his presents! This year was wonderful too because we had a white Christmas! We had so much snow on Christmas Eve and all of the early morning hours of Christmas. It was so pretty.... but of course it all melted by the end of Christmas day. Oh well - that's West Texas for you!

Our little family on Christmas morning

We decided to start a tradition that we would give our kids 3 gifts each. Jesus received 3 gifts from the wise-men, and with all of the family that we have the kids will have plenty of presents. Then they get one big gift from Santa that will always be unwrapped. That's how we did things in my house growing up and I loved it. This year Santa brought Clayton a Rockin Rider horse! It is awesome! It has a seat for when he's small and can convert as he grows. It's supposed to fit him until he's 3, so we'll see! He loves it! He knew instantly what to do to make it rock! So strange! He also knows how to make the horse sing by squeezing it's ear. He plays the song over and over and over! We're glad he loved his present so much! His presents from us were a Reveille pillow-pet, a clap and play puppy, and this music table thing that I thought would be awesome but turned out to be too small. He still plays with it though!

Loving Santa's present!

We will have 3 more Christmases this weekend. Thursday is our Christmas at mom & dad's, Friday is Christmas at Granny's with the Hillgers, and Saturday is Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's with the Frerichs! Whew! We're housing 7 people as well, so we'll have our hands full this weekend! Thank goodness we have a big house!

"Rockin' is serious business, Mom!"

In other news.... non-Christmas related... Clayton is teething so bad. Poor baby's two front teeth are both coming in. He got his two bottom teeth at the same time, and now his two front teeth are both coming in. He really doesn't get much fussier but his cheeks get really flush and he gets off his schedule. Oh well! Hopefully they come in soon! One's through the gum already and the other is almost there! Other news... little sister is now viable! Hooray! I'm 24 weeks along so, heaven forbid, if something did go wrong she should be able to survive. That's such an amazing time in the pregnancy to me. A safety net of sorts! I've been feeling great, besides the pink-eye, or whatever it was that we had. I had an appointment this morning and everything was hunky-dory! Another month and I go for another big ultrasound in Midland to make sure that she is growing ok and nothing else has happened with my stupid placenta, haha!

Can't forget Miss Pearl!

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Here's to a wonderful 2012!!!

Feeling Better

Well, it had to happen eventually.... Clayton finally got sick! This kid, thank goodness, has only had one real cold in his whole life, and other than that has been just peachy! I guess with the changes in the weather, the 30 degree days we had, and the wet/snow, he was bound to get sick! It started last Tuesday. We noticed that his nose was running a lot and that his eyes were a little swollen. By Wednesday his eyes were really pink and swollen, but still not producing the gooey stuff that comes with pink eye. We called the pediatrician and the nurse called us in a prescription for eye drops - just in case. Plus we were told to give him a minute amount of dimatap to help with the drainage. Well, several days went by and he was not getting better. One morning he woke up and his eyes were glued shut. We thought for sure it was pink eye, but after over 4 days on the drops he was not getting better. Away we went to the pediatrician..... No pink eye, but it was a definite infection! Poor baby just had a really bad sinus infection that was affecting his eyes and nose. We got a prescription for amoxicillin and he is looking and feeling a million times better now! (Nearly a week and a half later!) We are so thankful that he is getting better! Poor baby looked miserable but was still in good spirits, bless his heart! He still has congestion because he coughs and sometimes his breathing is loud and labored, but no running nose and no swollen/pink eyes! Hooray!

My mother-in-law had told me that babies born in March were the best because the weather is most favorable for not getting sick! He has definitely followed that trend, and for that we are very thankful! I was glad that this was his first prescription - EVER! WOO HOO!!!! Now lets hope he gets 100% better soon! I still haven't done my Christmas pictures because he looked so terrible, lol. Hopefully I can get them soon.... they might be New Year's cards instead of Christmas cards, but who cares! I have an 8 month old baby and I am 22 weeks pregnant... I think I have an excuse! ;-)

My mom has been here since Tuesday night and has been caring for Clayton at our house. I think that is making a huge difference in his well-being too, as he is not exposed to as many germs and what not! We are so glad that she is here! And tomorrow is her birthday! =)

Well, that's all I have for now! Just wanted a recollection of Clayton's first illness, lol... Thankful for our health!!

First Cousin!

Last night Clayton's first cousin was born! Charley Elaine Hillger came in to this world at 6:19pm weighing in at 6lbs 10oz and 19 1/2" long. She is beautiful (from what the pictures tell me!)! We are anxious to get to meet her but it looks like it won't happen this weekend like we had planned. All three of us are under the weather! Clayton has pink eye in both eyes, a cold, and he gave his cold to dear old Mom & Dad. Thanks, bud! Hopefully we'll be feeling better soon so that we can go hold that precious baby girl in Lubbock!

Congratulations to the new parents, Trey and Leslie! Welcome to the world, Charley!

Eight Months!

Happy Eight Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

Mommy has decided that I am going to invent some sort of machine so that you stop growing up so fast! This past month you have become mobile... and our life has changed drastically! ;-) You started crawling shortly after your 7 month birthday. You first major crawls happened on November 5th. It was so fun to watch you! Once you figured out what you were doing.... watch out! You're on the move! You don't slow down! You now always want to be down and crawling. You love to explore and go from toy to toy. You also love to play "fetch" with yourself. You will hit a toy (mostly a ball or block, but you've even used water bottles!) and chase after it, only to hit it again once you get to it. It's really funny to watch you entertain yourself! You hardly ever get bored and fussy anymore because you are able to change your scenery and find new toys! You do get fussy though when we won't or can't let you down to crawl! Your clothes are now always dirty from you crawling around! You're quite speedy too! You make record time!

Shortly after you started crawling you decided that you needed a new trick.... pulling up! You started pulling up on November 14th . You now pull up on anything you can, including the side of your crib! We had to drop your mattress already because we were afraid that you would climb out! You can pull up and then stand for long periods of time, and you love it! Every morning when we go in to your room you are standing at the edge of your crib waiting for us! It's really cute! It won't be long until your cruising along the edge of the couch - and then - walking! Oye... again, where is the machine to make you stop growing?!

One of your favorite activities, besides crawling and pulling up, is dancing to music! Anytime that you hear music you start swaying back and forth. It is so cute! We love how much you love music and we can't wait until you are big enough to start playing musical instruments! You make your own music for now! ;-) Speaking of your own music, you love blowing raspberries and making a smacking noise with your mouth. Your still not speaking a whole lot (you just blabber dadada) but we're hoping you start saying some words soon! We can't wait to hear you call us mama and dada for the first time! Your other noises are LAUGHS. Oh my goodness you laugh so much! You are so ticklish and you love being scared. We love the sweet sound of your laughter. It brings so much joy to our lives!

You have graduated to the big boy bathtub - no more baby tub for you! Now you just sit and play with your toys. Once we took you out of the small tub you stopped splashing so much. Maybe it's because you have tons of toys now! Who knows! You still love bath time though, but man do you hate getting dressed afterward! We think you'd rather run around in your birthday suit, but it's too cold for that!

"Panking" is still one of your all time favorite activities. Haha! You hit everything!!! You also like to bounce a lot when we are holding your arms and you're standing. You probably learned how to bounce from your exersaucer! Another favorite activity is making a mess! You love to go over to our bookshelf in the game room and pull all of the dvd's off the bottom shelf. Guess Mommy & Daddy need to babyproof some! At least they are not fragile! You definitely like getting into things you're not supposed to. For instance, you love chewing on plugs... not a good habit!

You had some awesome firsts this month - besides all of the mobility changes! You went to your first Aggie football game in College Station for starters! You were such a good baby! You didn't cry or fuss the entire game. You took a nap during the 3rd quarter and when the game was over you were ready to crawl on Kyle Field! That's right - you have touched Kyle Field waaaayyyy before most people/kids have! We think that is really special! So many people complimented on how cute you were and how neat it was that you were there, and plus, crawling on Kyle Field! You're such a good Aggie already!

Yes, this is what you did during your pictures!

You also had your first Thanksgiving(s) this month! We had our first turkey dinner at Opa and Oma's house in San Antonio with Uncle Ross and Uncle Adam and Blakely! It was a lot of fun. You had sweet potatoes! We had another meal on Thanksgiving day at Pop & Gia's house with the family here! And finally we had another meal at Grandma & Grandpa's house where we fed you cereal!

Eating wise you are exploring a lot of new foods, but you are still super picky! You now get to eat the little cereal things called puffs that are made for babies. You also eat some table foods that we know are ok for you like fruits and veggies. You love to make a mess with any food that we give you! You're still picky though and won't eat any fruit that is smushed up into baby food. In fact you hated peaches, pears and bananas when we gave them to you. Your all time favorite food is still sweet potatoes! You still looooove your bottle and drink 7 ounces every 4 hours, pretty much like clockwork! You're very predictable on when you need a bottle or a nap, and we like that!

Mommy and Daddy like taking you to town now because you can ride in the shopping cart and you can sit in a high chair at a restaurant! It makes it a lot easier to cart you around places! You love riding in the shopping cart! We think you like looking at all of the people and things on the shelves!

Appearance wise you still look like your daddy but you have mommy's chubby baby cheeks!  You're finally starting to get some hair too! Woo hoo! Now it doesn't just stick straight up! Your hair is a light brown color and your eyes are still a gorgeous blue! We love it! You're wearing 9-12mo pants and 9mo onesies. You have long legs! You're still in a size 3 diaper - which you've been in for a while now!

You sleep great and have been sleeping from 7:30-8ish to 7-7:30ish every day. Mommy & Daddy are ok with not getting to sleep in on weekends anymore... you are worth it! Some times we can feed you your morning bottle and you'll go back to sleep in bed with us until about 9. That's always nice! =)

You truly are the BEST baby, and you truly bring such an immense amount of joy to our lives. We never knew that we could love you this much! You are so wonderful and we are so blessed to have you as our son! Now, let's hope your little sister is as good! ;-)

Little toot!

We love you so much, baby boy! Happy Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Halfway Through!

I'm already halfway through my second pregnancy. WOW. Double WOW. First off, I feel so incredibly blessed to be pregnant in the first place. Through the roller coaster of the end of my first trimester, I feel very blessed that this little girl is doing so great. We had our anatomy ultrasound a couple weeks ago and everything looked wonderful! She was in the most awkward positions though! She was standing on her head, with her arms and legs tucked in! They were able to get all of their measurements and check her heart/brain/etc, plus confirm that yes, she is a girl! This pregnancy has been a breeze and has been flying by. I feel very very blessed to be able to say that! I think I take pregnancy very well! Maybe I should be a Michelle Duggar - JUST KIDDING!

As far as differences in pregnancies go, Reagan is much calmer than her brother was. And, looking back on things, I should have known judging by how active he was inutero, how active he would be in real life. That kid does not ever stop moving! ;-) Reagan just gives me little kicks every now and then. I think that I am slightly larger this go around then with Clayton, but that was to be expected seeing as my stomach muscles did not have time to recuperate after Clayton! I have had two colds now, which stink since you can't take anything. Plus, I'm allergic to acetaminophen, so I can't take anything for pain. I don't think I was EVER sick with Clayton. Again, super blessed. I don't think I even had so much as a minor cold. But, oh well, I'll get over it! It probably has something to do with the fact that I carry around a germy little boy all day! Hehe...

I do feel bad that I have not done pregnancy survey's with Reagan. I barely even take a weekly picture. I took one when we found out, one at 15 weeks, another at 18 weeks, and now 20. Oops! Oh well! I guess that was to be expected! It's hard enough to keep up with my crawling 8 month old, let alone a blog! It is still crazy to think that we'll have another baby here in our lives in just 4 1/2 more months. We know God will provide!

Which ones bigger? lol

DVR is the best!

My best friend Cristina posted her top 5 DVR picks right now on her blog, so I decided to post mine as well! DVR in our household is a life saver, and quite frankly, I don't know what we'd do if we had to watch commercials. Spoiled much?! Welll... when you have a baby, and he requires 100% of your attention at all times now that he is crawling and pulling up (yes, new development today!), then TV tends to take a backseat... as it should! So, therefor, DVR it is! BTW, I still call it "taping" shows, and my husband gets mad at me. lol... Sorry, old habit!

Ok, although these are not necessarily my all time favorite shows (because Gilmore Girls would be number 1), these are my top 5 shows that I currently DVR (as in the season is going on right now). Enjoy!

#1 - Parenthood

I think I mainly love this show because of my absolute infatuation with Lauren Graham. Ok, that sounds funny, but I love her. And her character is pretty good on the show too. Sometimes, as Cristina said, the show can be boring, but I love the big family life and seeing all of the families stories unfold. I doubt this show makes it many more seasons unfortunately.

#2 - Glee

I'm a huge music fan, so any show that showcases a range of music and does it in a new manner (i.e. last week they did songs from West Side Story - amazing!) has my DVR recording it! Oh wait... this is the only musical show on air? Ok then! It's a little cheesy at times because all of the kids are young and in high school, but that's ok with me! My favorite singer is Rachel, just because man that girl can sing, and as far as characters go - I like Coach Beast! haha! Oh, and Kurt's dad.... ok those are not main characters. Oh well!

#3 - Grey's Anatomy

Oh Grey's... I've been watching you since my freshman year of college (or well, that's what I remember!). Although this show is just about drama and not about medicine really, I somehow still find myself watching every week. Last week's episode was great. I thought my favorite character, Christina Yang, did a great job. It's one of those shows that I get mad when they don't show the previews for next week, haha.

#4 - How I Met Your Mother

I admit, I only started watching this show on it's repeats on Lifetime, or whatever channel it was, but then I really got into it and now Darren and I tape, oops, DVR, the new episodes so that we don't miss out! I really love this show and it's story lines. Funny, serious, sad, whatever it may be. I think my favorite episode so far has been when Lily and Marshall were finding out the gender of their baby.. it was cute!

#5 - Gossip Girl

Ok, I hate to admit this one, but I'm going to anyway.... Yes I watch a stupid teeny-bopper show on the CW. Yes, I realize no Emmy award winning shows are ever aired on the CW... but too bad. It's my guilty pleasure show. Darren hates it and so I have to watch it when he's not around, haha! 

I have to add a runner-up.... it's a new favorite show of mine!

#6 - Pan Am

I really only started watching this show because nothing else was on, and I had seen the previews. Turned out, I kinda like it! It's not a "WHOA I can't wait to see what happens next week!", but it's definitely worth the 42 minute investment in my opinion. I think it's funny that Christina Ricci is on TV now, lol. But, she's cute and does a good job!

OK..... don't judge me based on the shows that I watch. I realize that they are all realllly stupid and a bunch of time wasters... but isn't that what TV is for? ;-) Just be glad I didn't add Say Yes To The Dress! haha!

The gift of life

The Catholic church, and well I guess all churches in general, just wrapped up a pro-life campaign called the 40 days for life. During this time members of different churches would go to Planned Parenthood and pray peacefully. They offered counseling but nothing was forced. No violent protesting if you get my drift! I am happy to announce that during these 40 days, nationwide, 465 known women decided to not terminate their pregnancy. That is 465 babies who are going to be given the gift of life! Now I don't want to get all preachy on my blog, because even though I am devout Catholic and very pro-life I realize that everyone should be entitled to make their own decisions. Kinda off topic, but have you ever watched the show Teen Mom on MTV? I LOVE the couple Caitlyn and Tyler. Now those kids had their head on straight! They gave their baby girl up for adoption because they knew that they could not provide for her the life that she deserved. ANYWAY, back to my topic... I think it is wonderful that prayer can make a difference.

In my life, I look at my baby boy and just think... Wow. I am so blessed. He is amazing. Even though we had to pray and pray and pray for him, God had His plan for our precious baby boy. Just like He had His plan for our growing baby girl! Even though we were definitely not prepared for another baby we accept this gift from God with the utmost honor. (Hey, you do the deed, you know the cause and effect!)

During the 40 days for life I not only prayed for women who might have been contemplating abortion, but I also prayed for women struggling to get pregnant. Can you imagine if the shoes were reversed? Wow! Anyway, just wanted to share the good news of all of the saved lives. Please pray that these mothers will continue to realize the gift of life and that these babies will be raised in a loving environment, wherever that may be.

Four Glorious Years

Four years ago today - actually in thirty minutes from now - I married the love of my life, my best friend, my soul mate. My husband is the most loving individual that I know and I am so blessed to be his wife. It is crazy to think how much our lives have changed in four years. We are now a family of four (3 1/2 since one is baking! hehe). Our love for each other has only grown. The four year anniversary's traditional gift is fruit and flowers, so we will be picking up some strawberries and chocolate after our dinner out tonight! We're playing it low-key tonight because a) We have a baby boy  b) I'm pregnant with lil sis  c) We're hoping to be in Puerto Vallarta next year this time! haha! Here's to many many many more years of married bliss!

It's.... A.....

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! Baby #2 is a beautiful little girl! Or so the ultrasound tells us! ;-) Congrats to the majority of you, my dear blog readers! The girl votes far outweighed the boy votes! Truth be told I thought that it might be a girl. With my son I had his name picked out, bedding, etc and did not know what I would do if it was a girl! Now, for this baby I knew everything for a girl and nothing for a boy! We are thrilled that we will have a baby girl joining our family in just 5 more months!

Big brother is not going to know what hit him!

Our proof! The lady said this was perfect evidence!

Our baby girl will be named Reagan Elizabeth. We decided to share her name early this time around because we know a lot of people who are expecting! Even though we picked a semi-unique name you just never know!

We can't wait now to watch our sweet girl grow, and can't wait until April (hopefully April, hehe) when she makes her appearance!

Seven Months!

Happy Seven Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You have changed even more this month than in the past - as if that is possible! You have really started to develop your own personality, and we love to see what new changes you'll bring us day to day! For starters you are so close to crawling! You can crawl backwards and on 10/30 you took two "steps" forward. However, most of the time you just move either both legs and not the arms, or your arms and not your legs. It's quite amusing! For us, not you! You get a little frustrated when you aren't getting anywhere, or are going backwards instead of forwards! You are excellent at turning circles! So soon you will be crawling forward like a big boy!

You sit up so well now and so it is easy to stick you down with some toys in front of you for a while. You've taken a couple of falls but you are able to shake it off pretty well! Your favorite toys to play with while sitting are your cookie jar (plastic jar with shapes that sings!) and your gator at Pop & Gia's house. Your all time favorite toy right now though is your teething giraffe. Nana nicknamed the giraffe Clarice because she is French, but I think her real name is Sophie! ;-) You have worn the spots right off that giraffe! It will keep you and your teeth happy for quite a while at a time!

You still have your boredom issues if you are in the same place too long. You let us know by screaming that you are done and ready for the next thing! Sometimes at work all you need is a change of scenery, so we'll take you outside! One day we let you scoot around the warehouse in your walker. You entertained yourself for quite sometime, spinning yourself backwards in circles! Speaking of work, you love everyone there! I don't know what everyone is going to do when you eventually get a nanny!

A fun development that you just made on your 7 month birthday was that you danced for the first time! Daddy has a stuffed Reveille dog, A&M's mascot, and it plays the Aggie War Hymn. Well the other day Daddy had it in his office and played it for you and you danced along to the music! So far we can only get you to dance to Reveille and the War Hymn! Oh, our sweet baby Aggie! So fun!!!

Mommy and Daddy get a huge kick out of this, but your all time favorite activity is "pankin" (spanking) things! You hit and drum on EVERYTHING! Everyone we talk to says that they have never seen a baby pank things as much as you! By the way, Gia came up with the pankin' slang! There has to be some drumming skills in there somewhere with all of the hitting that you do! We just hope that you don't continue this trend and hit your sibling one day! ;-)

One of your favorite activities is still bath time. Now you are big enough to sit up in the tub, so the second we set you in the water you go to town splashing the water all over yourself, Mommy, and the floor! It is really a funny sight to see! You just really like hitting things, see?! Your other favorite activity... being scared! We don't know why you love it so much but you will laugh so hard when someone scares you! It's really fun to get you rolling!

One thing that is pretty funny, but I guess usual for kids, is that you love new toys. It's as if you know they are new! When we buy you a new toy you will be hooked on that thing for at least a week... then it's time to move on to something else! Luckily for you, and us, you have plenty of toys! And, people love you so much that they keep buying you more! ;-) You're not spoiled or anything!

You have really started to take an interest in Pearl, your puppy. Every time she comes in the room you smile, even though she licks you in the face! We know that she will make a great dog for you and that you two will be great friends! Mommy loves this! Another thing I love is that you are so ticklish! It is so funny! This is going to make your toddler years really fun!!!

Food wise you are still taking your bottle like a champ and eating between 7 and 8 ounces every feeding. You have tried a variety of foods now and the only thing you did not like was bananas, surprisingly! We thought for sure you would love them! After all it is one of the few baby foods that still smells and looks like it's original food item, ha! You like all of the vegetables we have given you, and your favorite is still squash. While Nana was here she taught you how to hold your bottle! You don't do it every bottle but you will hold it for quite a while!

Yes, you're eating your toes!

Nana also was very awesome and helped us start to wean you from your beloved pacifier. You now pretty much only have the paci during nap time, night time, and if you are just really upset. I bet you only have the paci a total of a few hours a day. Major improvement! We are ok with you still having it at night for now because we know it helps you sleep! You are a great sleeper and sleep for nearly 12 hours at a time, but the paci is definitely what keeps you calm and sleeping! Some nights Mommy and Daddy have to put the paci back in your mouth if you wake up, but that's ok because we'd rather take away your paci then try to wean you of thumb sucking later on!

You're still babbling on and on but usually only saying "dada". We can't wait for the day when you use your words in context!!! You like to carry on conversations with people when they talk to you. If they are saying dada then you repeat. If they are screaming, like Mimi likes to do, then you scream back! It's pretty entertaining!

Your 7 month birthday was Halloween, so you celebrated this past weekend by attending the Lions Club carnival! You were Curious George and Daddy dressed up as the Man in the yellow hat! You even won a prize in the costume contest! We can't wait until next year when you can really participate!

The only negative thing that I have to say is that you are developing a bit of an attitude. We laugh it off right now! ;-) For instance, if you are playing with something that you're not supposed to, like a highlighter at work, and we take it away you will start to cry! One day Mommy took away something and you started bawling! This is not a good indication of what it will be like when you are two! We are trying to teach you "no" and even though it's hard to upset you, it has to be done! Believe us, it's for your own good!

Growth wise you are wearing 9 month pants and 6-9 month onesies. Most of your PJ's are 9 month sized although they are a little big on you. Mommy thinks you have long legs and a short torso like Uncle Adam! Before this month you were always perfectly wearing the baby sizes. Now we're having to mix and match sizes! It's been cold and hot here too, so finding the appropriate weather clothes has been a bit of a challenge! You are still in a size 3 diaper! You're about 20 pounds now which means we are moving you up to a big boy car seat! You are not fitting very well into your infant carrier anymore! Our baby is growing up!!!

We love watching you grow and change, and we can't wait to see what the future has to hold for you! You have been, and are, the best baby and the best gift from God. We love you so much!!!!!

Love,
Mommy

Blue or Pink? What do you think?

We're finding out the gender of our sweet baby #2 in just over a week! So, I wanted to take a poll! What do you think it will be? Will Clayton be getting a little brother or a little sister?

Vote 1 of 2 ways!
1) There is a poll on the right-hand side of my blog, under my about me.
2) Add a comment to this post!

Sorry, you don't get anything if you get it correct.... except for the personal satisfaction that comes from being right! ;-) Just a fun little thing to occupy my mind for the next 9 days! PS.. our appointment is Wednesday morning, so the "results" will be announced via facebook and my blog later that day.... of course after all grandparents and uncles/aunts are told!

Happy guessing!

Medical Update #2

First off, I apologize greatly for this update taking so long. I know that I have left a bunch of people wondering what was up! On Monday, shortly after I posted my update, my OB's office called and said that the Perinatologist in Midland wanted to see me right away, as in an hour from then I had an appointment! We live 45 minutes from town keep in mind, so I had to be the slowest fast person ever! Haha! I still don't know the technical rules of bed rest when you are having to go in for an appointment and what not! So, I got up, got dressed, and we headed in to Midland. Waiting at the doctor's office felt like an eternity, but actually took less time than normal. The ultrasound tech did my sonogram first, and shortly after the doctor came in to assess. There we received the best news - NO PREVIA. He said that there was no way both himself and the other doctor, both who specialize in high-risk pregnancies and who have seen countless cases of previa, could miss it on the ultrasound. He said that more than likely the radiologist reading my scans from the ER mistook a clot to be part of my uterus, and well yes, the clot was touching the cervix. He said without a doubt I did not have placenta previa. Secondly, he said the baby looked great. Measurements were right on and we could actually even see all 4 chambers of the heart perfectly. He said that was impressive for being 13 weeks along. The hematoma was barely visible as well and he said that there was still some blood echoing back on the sono, but that we should not worry about it anymore. Granted, things can always change, and so if I ever start to bleed or cramp again I am to go straight to their office, NOT the hospital.

So, basically the ER scared the sh*t out of us for nothing. Well, things were not going well for me on Sunday but it was apparently just working itself out. I still know that we are not in the clear yet. I go back for another appointment with them in less than 5 weeks. Plus I'll see my regular OB between then. It's been such a rollercoaster of emotions. One day we think I'm miscarrying, the next we think everything is fine, the next we think I will be on bedrest for 6 months and deliver cesarean, the next I'm fine...... OYE. I stayed home Tuesday to keep recovering physically and emotionally. The whole ordeal this past week really took it out on me. It's hard to believe how fast everything changed from one extreme to the other, but I am confident that the Perinatologist's know what they are talking about. But you can bet your sweet bottom that if anything else happens I won't mind getting a second opinion!

I have to give a HUGE shout out to our best friends who MAJORLY helped us out through this whole thing. Not only is it wonderful to lean on them for medical advice, but they asked opinions of other doctors, checked in on me every day, and made sure that we knew they were there for us... even though they are super busy with their own lives and had their family visiting!

My mom came down on Monday (driving in a scared panic I'm sure) and has been helping out around the house and keeping Clayton. It has been so amazing to have her here. I feel so much more at ease with her here, knowing that if anything happens she's right there to help! Now I have to work on my relaxing, try to take it easy when I can, and make sure that I take super good care of me and this little blessing growing inside of me. God really wants this baby here, and so do we! =) We'll do anything we can to make sure that our little one stays healthy!

Medical Update

Well, dear readers... things have not gotten better, and instead have gotten a little worse. Yesterday around lunch I started to have heavy bleeding and cramping. I knew that this was not good so we called in to the hospital and they said to come in. Unfortunately since I was under 20 weeks they would not see me in Labor & Delivery, so we had to go to the ER. My favorite place - not! Once there we waited for a while and finally had an ultrasound. Fortunately the baby was still doing fine and was jumping all over the place. The bad news was that my hematoma looked HUGE. Compared to the sonogram from Thursday, the thing looked like it had doubled in size, at least. Ok, so that sort of explains the bleeding, we thought. Then after waiting another hour for the report of the ultrasound to come back in, the doctor came in and told me that the placenta was really low, and was previa. Placenta previa. Horrible words to hear. Yes, there is a possibility that it could migrate higher since I am only 13 weeks, however, in most cases this means that you are on bed rest a good chunk of the pregnancy, and the baby has to be delivered early via c-section. These are all things I can handle (or I am making myself be able to handle) so long as the baby is ok. We still don't know that everything is and will be ok. I'm waiting on my OB to call in to the Perinatologist in Midland right now to see me for another appointment. I hate this waiting game. It's horrible. I know that doctors are busy, but come on! This is an emergency! This makes me a high-risk pregnancy... shouldn't that take precedence? Oye... I'm just so frustrated right now from the constant waiting game, and I just want to hear what is going on in layman terms. I have a huge list of questions to ask the doctor. FIRST off, why did they not see the previa at my appointment on Thursday? And, why did I bleed all day yesterday?!

As I learn more I'll keep updating on here... in the mean time, pray, pray, pray!!!!!!!!

Six Months!

Happy Six Month, HALF-A-YEAR, Birthday, Clayton Scott!

We cannot believe that our baby boy is already half a year old. Wow. Time has been flying by, and you have been impressing us daily with all of your new skills and talents! You've made a lot of progress this past month with all of your physical developments. You can sit for a long period of time without falling over, as long as you lean forward or sit up straight. Sometimes you get a bit too ambitious when going for your toys and you fall over!  You can stand if you hold on to something for a while as well! We have to stand you up first though. No pulling up yet! Lastly, you finally figured out how to use your arms and you can now get up on all four limbs and rock back and forth. It's only a matter of time before you crawl! You will go after toys and can turn circles, but haven't figured out the whole moving forward thing yet! That's ok with Mommy! We still need to baby-proof the house!

This month you started eating vegetables and you've loved everything we've tried. We had to change your diet from soy milk to cow's milk, so you've been off your veggies for about a week. Before that we tried sweet potatoes, green beans, and squash! Squash was definitely your favorite of the three! You would eat your whole bowl and even eat more! We stopped the rice cereal all together because you hated it, and it was only adding to your constipation issues. (You can thank me for the embarrassment later, but yes, you have trouble pooping!)

I wrote about it when it happened, but you had TWO teeth come in this month! You had been teething since you were three months old, so we knew that you were working on something! One day we felt in your mouth and - voila! - two teeth! They are your bottom teeth and they are super sharp! You now like to chew on things and scrape your teeth against it, such as the spoon, or a toy. Maybe it feels good on those gums!

We still get compliments everywhere we go on how you are the happiest and smiley-est baby ever. You are just always so happy! Mommy and Daddy barely even know what to do when you are fussy because we never have to deal with it!!! We love how happy you are! After all, what is there to be sad about? You're pretty spoiled and special! ;-)

You have started to have a bit of boredom issues. If you are in the same place too long then you'll start to get fussy, or your new thing is that you'll just start to scream! You'll even carry on conversations with us.... through screaming back and forth! You have learned how to use your voice in other ways though! You can say "da-da-da". You will copy us as we say it and move our mouths. It's precious! We're pretty sure you don't know who you're talking about yet! Too bad I can't get you to say "ma-ma-ma"!!!

Once we moved you into your crib you've really gotten into a bedtime routine, and it is GLORIOUS! You start to get tired around 7:30-8, and are usually asleep within 15 minutes of us taking you up to your room. You must like the atmosphere we have set up in there! You have a sound machine that plays classical music all night, and a helicopter night-light that shines just enough light! You sleep so well now! Most mornings you do not wake up until at least 7:30. This is a huge improvement from last month, as it was a miracle if you slept past 7! Some mornings we have to get you up and take you to work in your PJ's since you're still sleeping! We hate waking you up, but we gotta get to work!

You are still coming to work with us almost every day. You go to daycare on Tuesday's and every other Friday. You are the HIT of the daycare! When we bring you in all of the little kids swarm around you saying "Clayton, Clayton!". They think you are too cute! You're the only baby so you get plenty of attention! Not like you mind! ;-)

Growth wise you are still perfectly average! Your height and weight are still in the 50th percentile! You just moved into 6-9 month clothing, but the whole previous month you were exclusively wearing 3-6mo. You still wear a good amount of your 3-6 clothes, but your PJ's are getting too short and so are some of your pants. You're in a size 3 diaper, which will fit another month probably.

Some BIG news this month was that we finally announced that you're going to be a big brother!!! We've known since shortly after your 4 month birthday, but waited a while to tell everyone! We know that you'll be an amazing big brother, whether the new baby is a boy or a girl! You'll be best friends hopefully since you'll be so close in age!

Some of your likes and dislikes: You love your links, exersaucer, the toy bar on your carseat, baths, screaming (hehe), your taggies ball, and your crinkly book. You love sitting upright and napping in your swing, oh and we can't forget your PACI! You do not like being held like a baby, sleeping on your back (you sleep on your stomach most nights, even though we put you to sleep on your back), and you don't like being put down when you're in the mood to be held. Other than that you are so truly happy!

Each month you grow more and more, and we love you more and more. Who knew that was even possible? You are so amazing and you have brought immense joy to everyone's lives.

We love you so much, sweet boy! Happy Birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Dr. Google

I know that I have in the past, and even since Tuesday, promised myself that I would not over google. I would not resort to Dr. Google because "he" always assumes the worst, or so I have noticed. Regardless, I succumbed to my curiosity and began googling. I found one medical journal where they had studied a bunch of different women with SCH - oh yes, I now have a term for my diagnosis.... Subchorionic Hematoma, aka SCH. Anyway, the main outcome was either decreased birth weight, preterm labor, or placenta previa and other placental issues. Then, I found a support group on babycenter with a ton of other women who have/had been diagnosed with SCH. This was great because now I had real life people and their stories! However... most of the stories did not have happy endings, thus freaking me out more. Apparently, from what I can gather, if the hematoma does not resolve itself by about 20 weeks then we are in a heap of trouble. Maybe that is why the perinatologist wants to see me again at 18 weeks. Either way I am struggling with not worrying myself too much. I know that worrying can only lead to stress, that of which I am not supposed to have right now! I'm supposed to be taking it easy and taking care of my body and my baby as best as possible. Easier said then done!! ;-)

So, if you would please, say some prayers for us and our baby-to-be. Regardless of the outcome this is still a scary situation for us and we are praying that God will take care of us and our wonderful blessing.

Rough Few Days

The past few days in the Hillger household have been terrible to say the least. I'm choosing to write about this on my blog because a) I want a recollection of it, and b) The only people that reallly read my blog are people I care about and wouldn't mind hearing this story anyway! So, here's what happened....... OH, and if you have a weak stomach or are super emotional right now, you might not want to read!

Tuesday I was at work, going about my business as usual. I was just sitting at my desk, working away, when all of a sudden I started to feel wet. I knew I was not having bladder control issues, because it just didn't feel like that. I rushed to the bathroom and sat down as fast as I could. By this point my pants and underwear were soaked. I looked down into the toilet and saw that what I was leaking, in my mind gushing, was blood. Bright red blood. I started shaking and crying. The only thing I could think of was that I was having a miscarriage. Although, I hadn't had any cramping or pain. I opened the door a crack and started screaming for Darren. Keep in mind, I work with my inlaws. My father in law was across the hallway in his office and heard me shouting. I told him that I needed Darren. He ran to go get him from the warehouse. When Darren walked in his face turned white. I described the scene to my mom as a Freddy Kruger scene. Ok, that is a little dramatic, but there was blood all over myself and the toilet. Darren hugged me and tried to ask what was going on. All I remember was saying that I thought I was having a miscarriage. Darren asked if we needed to call Carylon and I said "YES!". So he left the bathroom to go get Carylon's phone number and called her at work. In the mean time, my mother in law had heard us in the bathroom and probably heard me crying, so wanted to come in. She hugged me and told me it would be ok. Darren came back and had Carylon on the phone. She told me to breathe and calm down some. Since I did not have any cramping or pains she was not convinced that I was having a miscarriage, but could not be certain unless I came in. So, Darren and I rushed out, drove to our house so I could get some clean clothes, and then hauled butt to Big Spring. We made it there in probably 20 minutes tops. Once there we were immediately able to go into an exam room and Carylon came in shortly after to do the ultrasound. The minute she put the wand (I don't know the technical term) on my stomach we saw our baby, and it was jumping around. Whew..... We then were able to see the heartbeat. Another Whew.... Carylon then did a pelvic exam to make sure my cervix was still closed, and thank goodness it was. So, we had no answer as to what had happened, but we knew that for the time being our baby was ok. She suggested we go see the perinatologist in Midland, a specialist in high-risk pregnancies and other complications. The worst part was I could not get an appointment until this afternoon! So, all day Wednesday I stayed at home on bed rest, trying to take care of my baby as best I could. I had slight spotting throughout the day and some cramping, but nothing severe. Thursday morning I again stayed home and rested, and we were able to go to the appointment this afternoon. Once at the appointment the tech did an ultrasound and reassured us that the baby was doing fine. We again got to see our little one and his/her heartbeat. Then the doc came in and when he did the ultrasound immediately found the source of the problem. I had a hematoma (sp) on my uterus. Apparently the hematoma had bled out, thus causing me to bleed out. It also explained the slight spotting as it is still emptying. He reassured us that it did not affect the baby at all, and that it was actually common. He told us that it does not mean that everything will be ok the remainder of the pregnancy, but he is not worried that it will cause further problems. I do have to take it easy and am on pelvic rest for the time being, so as to not irritate anything else further. We were SO glad to finally have a reason as to what happened, and SO glad to hear that it did not affect our baby at all. The blood did not enter the placenta at all.

Through all of this I prayed and prayed. I knew that if something happened then it would be for a reason, but I just prayed that God would protect our little one... and He did. We are so truly blessed. I know that this all could have ended about a thousand different ways, with much worse outcomes. I will glady take my instructions of pelvic rest and general rest. I am going to take care of this baby as best I can! I told Darren that God TRULY wants this baby to be here.... maybe he/she will be the next President, or as Darren said, find the cure for cancer! You never know! God brought this baby to us, and God is helping us throughout this pregnancy, and we are SO incredibly blessed to know He is there! God is good!!!!

Expecting.........

Well, my dear blog readers....... we are expecting baby #2! I know, I know. Shocker, right? I mean, Clayton is not even half a year old yet. Oh believe me, we were just as shocked as you are. It all started the week of August 3rd. I knew my period was supposed to start, and day after day I checked when I went to the restroom. Much to my surprise there was nothing! So, on a whim I told Darren we should buy a pregnancy test. After all, I just KNEW my body was screwing with me, and I just knew that this meant that when we did try for #2 that we would struggle again. We got home from town on Tuesday the 9th and I took the test right away. I laid it on the counter, finished redressing, then Darren walked in.Within the 30 seconds that all of that took two pink lines popped up in the window. Darren and I both looked at it at the same time. I started crying and shaking. I just knew that the test was going to come back negative. I just knew it. Now we were staring back at a positive and all I could think was how poor we were going to be. haha.... Darren remained so calm through the whole thing. He hugged me, kissed me, and reminded me how it really was a blessing. I soon got over myself and ever since that moment I have truly realized that I am crazy for ever being upset. This is a wonderful blessing from God. A child, any life, is a blessing. God may have made us wait around for the first kiddo, and may have shocked us with this one, but we knew how babies were made, and we chose to accept God's plans for us. We are now thrilled. We can't wait to meet our little one. I'm sure everyone wants to know if we want a girl now, but really, we don't care! We know Clayton will be an amazing big brother to this baby. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy!

I came across this blog post on one of my favorite blogs.. it talks about how she and her husband willing accept children from God. They adopted a beautiful little girl and not longer after they did they got pregnant on their own! Their babies are about a year apart, just like mine will be. I know that people will talk, and quite frankly this was one thing I told Darren that I was worried about. However, I will take it all in stride. I have two beautiful blessings from God. Two amazing lives to take care of.

This pregnancy has not been as easy so far. First, I had one day of shooting pains in my ovary area. This was preceded by a day of spotting. I was so nervous that I was either having a miscarriage or had an ectopic pregnancy. So, I went in to see Carylon (aka the best person EVER!) and she gave me my first ultrasound at 7 weeks 2 days. Although all we could see was the tiny dot, we did see the baby's heartbeat! Poor Darren had to work and did not get to go... plus at this point in time we hadn't told anyone so I basically had to sneak away to the doctor. During the ultrasound Carylon was worried about the placement of the baby inside of my uterus and so told me to be on pelvic rest and to take it easy. If I felt any cramping or had severe cramping then I needed to get to a hospital right away. That weekend we went to Little Rock to visit our best friends and Cristina was able to call her mom and get some more medical advise. Rosa agreed that I should be on pelvic rest and that I should have another doctor do a better ultrasound to see what was going on. So, away we went to Midland for a better ultrasound! At the ultrasound Darren finally was able to see our baby and his/her heartbeat! The ultrasound tech and OB both said that the baby had great placement and that I should not worry. However, the baby was measuring a week smaller than my EDD based on my LMP. (I'm abbreviating for all of you boy readers!) I was 9 weeks 3 days at that ultrasound and the baby measured 8 weeks 3 days. The OB suggested that I just ovulated later than expected, but the whole reason I am pregnant to begin with was because I apparently ovulated earlier than expected, haha. SOO, now I don't know what's going on with that, but the OB is going to monitor everything closely. She classified me as a threatened miscarriage because of the problems with the cramping/spotting. Oye... what awful words to hear. I am confident that everything will be ok though! God will take care of our little surprise blessing!

Lastly, it's been a tough pregnancy because I have been sicker! Not only have I had worse morning sickness, I now have all day nausea and nothing, NOTHING, sounds good or tastes good. It doesn't help either that I had the terrible cold and sinus infection. In case you're new to the world of pregnancy, you can't take hardly ANY medicine while pregnant! Plus, I am allergic to acetaminophin so I couldn't take anything to relieve the sinus pain! (Side note: I have been writing this blog post for over two weeks now, hehe, and I am happy to say that the morning sickness has subsided and I am feeling great! In fact, I think it was easier morning sickness than I had with Clayton!)

We had another ultrasound last week and everything looked great with the baby. They even did a 4D and we got a wonderful picture of our beautiful baby! So amazing how formed they are at 10 weeks. I can't even begin to imagine how anyone could have an abortion if they saw the images that I saw.

So, yes, God works in mysterious ways. We feel very blessed and we know that He will provide. We may just eat ramen for a few months, or a few years, but that is ok because life is a precious precious gift!!!

My baby is growing up!

Our life lately has been a whirlwind! But, it's been so exciting because Clayton has been changing so much! First of all, he can now sit by himself! Granted it doesn't last a horribly long time, but he does it! He is best if he is leaning forward slightly and putting his hands on the ground or on his legs. He is definitely getting better at balancing himself though, whether it is when he is sitting, in an exersaucer, or being held on our hip.

He is still trying to crawl but getting nowhere. That's ok with Mommy! ;-) He hasn't figured out how to use his arms! He will scoot on his tummy with his legs and  go after toys or whatever we place in front of him. He also can turn in all sorts of directions... but just not much movement forward!

Lastly, we decided to forgo the rice cereal because he hated, and I mean HATED it, lately. We moved him to the Stage 1 veggies and fruits! So far we've tried sweet potatoes and green beans! At first he made a horrible face, but then he liked it and ate his whole bowl! He still prefers his bottle though. You can tell that he gets either tired of eating from the spoon or frustrated that it is not filling him up fast enough. We have tried feeding him before and after his bottle, before it's time for a bottle, you name it! The kid is just particular and likes his milk! =)

Another new development that just popped up, literally, today was that he has two new teeth! His bottom two center incisors just poked through today! We knew he had not been acting like himself these past few days, but we had no clue that he was working on two new teeth! You can see the pearly whites poking through his bottom gum. Poor kiddo! He hasn't been fussy at all but he's been sleeping a lot more and he's not been drinking his bottle as well. Normally he pounds down all 7 ounces without a problem, but he barely drinks 6 these past few days.

Lastly, for the past four weeks he's been sleeping upstairs in his crib by himself. He sleeps from about 8pm to 7am, and it is glorious! Some mornings he wakes up earlier, but we can usually get him to fall back asleep after his bottle for a bit. Makes it so nice for us!

I can't believe that my baby, BABY, boy will be half a year old in just a couple of weeks. Where does the time go? He is the sweetest baby ever. We are so incredibly blessed. People tell us all of the time that we don't know how lucky we are! =) Love him to pieces!

Five Months!

Happy Five Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!

You are still changing by leaps and bounds! Once you started moving a lot during your 4th month you didn't stop! Your thing this month has been your attempt at crawling.... Mommy and Daddy better get ready! You spend a lot of time on your tummy, since when we put you on your back you immediately roll over. So, I guess you were getting tired of just sitting there and decided to start moving!You will tuck your legs up towards your tummy, duck your head down, and push off! One day you made so much progress when Mommy wasn't looking and you bonked your head pretty good against the side of the desk! Don't worry, we watch you much more closely now! While we were in Little Rock you attempted to use your arms to help yourself crawl, but they are just not strong enough yet. Once they are though - watch out!!! I know that I talked about this last month, but this month you have really made it your mission to start moving!

Your other big movements include being a little spastic baby while we are changing you. It's really funny how much and how fast you can move your arms and legs! We also have to make sure that you don't roll over on us while changing you! One day you rolled over really quick and so were just flashing your hiney in the air for a minute! ;-) Ahh, don't you love those kinds of stories!

Since this summer has been so hot (about 70 days over 100 degrees), we have spent a lot of time in the pool! Pop and Gia built a pool in the backyard and you have loved swimming in it! We've taken you to pools in other places too, and every time you love the water! You will play "potchi potchi", which means you splash the water. You'll splash so hard that you will soak your face, but you don't seem to mind! Speaking of water, you got to go on your first boat ride this month! We took you to Lake Brownwood with the rest of the Hillger family. We had a great time taking you out on the pontoon boat!

You just started to do a new thing when you see someone for the first time in a while. This could be a difference of a day, an hour, however long you want! You will be in our arms and you will lean forward and grin so big! It's as if you are just so excited to see the person and you can't wait to get out of our arms to them! One other new thing is that you now know what your paci is, where it goes, and how to put it in your mouth! We can hold it in front of you and you will grab it and put it in your mouth! Rather impressive! It's funny to Mommy though... seems as if since you know what it is maybe we should take it away now! I don't think that'll happen for a few more months though!

Being active is a big part of your life apparently! You move non-stop! You are always hitting things, batting at your toys, grabbing everything within your reach (and of course putting it straight into your mouth!)... It's hard to keep up with you sometimes! You love when we put you in your exersaucer and you can hit and play with all of the fun toys on it. You will also bounce up and down! Links are still your favorite toys, followed closely by anything that spins, and of course, anything that makes music!!!! You LOVE music! We have filmed you moving around like crazy and then we'll start some music and you instantly calm down and just listen. It's so cute! You also will let out a huge grin when Mommy plays or sings you "You are my sunshine". Sweetest thing!

A rare negative for you has recently developed. Mommy & Daddy really didn't think this would develop until you were atleast a toddler! You will get mad when we take something away from you!!! Mostly you only get mad when we take paper away from you. You have become obsessed with crunching and chewing on paper. Of course this is not very good so we'll take the paper away. When we do you start crying! It's funny but sad at the same time! You're showing more and more personality each day... you little stinker!

Your sleeping habits are getting much better! You now sleep almost all the way through the night in your crib!! You usually start to make grunting noises around 5am or so, and Mommy will get up and put your paci back in your mouth. You instantly fall back asleep and stay that way until 7am. It's been so much better! Plus, you go to sleep on your own and usually at a good time of night. We always know when you're ready to sleep because you start grunting! It's cute! We are thinking that the rice cereal is helping, plus you nap less during the day now. Speaking of rice cereal... you now eat a new food! You pretty much hate it, but we add some apple sauce and you tolerate it! Some nights you eat more than others. You still prefer your bottles! You are drinking about 7 ounces each bottle (we just bumped you up from 6 ounces). I don't think you've not finished a bottle in a looonggg time! You little piggy!

Size wise you haven't grown a whole lot. Maybe just outwards, hehe... You are wearing size 3-6mo, and still a size 2 diaper. We are about to switch your night time diapers to a size 3 though! You're weighing roughly 17-18 pounds. Appearance wise, you are the cutest baby on the face of the planet. Ok, we are biased! But really! You are so handsome! Your hair is getting lighter and lighter (what little hair there is!) and your eyes are still a gorgeous shade of blue! Right around your iris there is a small circle of hazel, so we think either your eyes will stay blue or maybe turn hazel. They definitely don't look like they're going to turn brown! We love that about you! So handsome!

I say it every month and I will keep saying it all of our lives.... you bring such joy to our lives. We love you so much and can't image what we ever did before you were around! You are probably the world's best baby and we greatly thank you for spoiling us in that way!!! You are such a blessing from God!

We love you more than you'll ever know!

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy! I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Starting Solids!

This past Sunday we started Clayton on his rice cereal! He did a great job! At first he was mad because even though he drank his usual 6 ounce bottle, he was still hungry and the rice cereal was not fulfilling him fast enough. However, he still did great! He impressed us by leaning for the spoon with his mouth open and getting the spoonful down in two bites! He really has been doing great!

Yummy!!

After the first night of rice cereal I thought for sure that he'd sleep through the night, or at least longer than 10pm to 4am. So, we carted ourselves upstairs and we slept in the guest room while Clayton slept in his crib. This was by far the worst sleep I have had since he was a week old. I was up every two hours. If I wasn't checking on him then the monitor was going off and waking me up. He did ok and slept his normal until 4am. Last night we were so exhausted that we brought him back downstairs into our room and his pack n play. I really hate that his room is on the second story and ours is on the first. I wouldn't ever build my house this way but the family who did build its kids were all grown up.... so it made sense!

First official night in his crib

He ate more of the cereal tonight so I am hoping that with each passing night he'll eat more and more and it will fill him more and more. Just have to find a way to break him of his 4am habit! I don't know if you can do that though! Oh well! Another new mom thing to learn and figure out! ;-)

Moving Out

The time has come. Clayton no longer requires night time feedings and he has outgrown his cradle. Cue the crying from this first time mom! My baby boy is growing up so fast! Although he's not entirely sleeping through the night, he does make it until about 5am. At that point in time I wake up and give him back his paci and he goes back to sleep until morning when we get him up. I am hoping that with the addition of rice cereal soon that he will make it all night, or at least until 6 or 7am! I'm not ready for him to leave yet (after all if he's been extra quiet I do still make sure he's breathing, haha!), but I know it's best for him and best for us! I do miss my alone time with my hubby!

So, my wonderful blogging mothers.... any advice for how to cope, how to make the move to his crib/own room easier on him and me? Any tips for getting him to sleep straight through the night?

Thanks in advance! We go to the doctor soon and so I hope to get the green light on rice cereal! =) Yahoo!

Four Months!

Happy Four Month Birthday, Clayton Scott!!

You are growing so much! This past month held a lot of really wonderful firsts for you! First off, you rolled over from back to front! This was a major accomplishment for you at such a young age! Now we can't put you anywhere without you wanting to roll over! You also gave us your first big laughs! We were sitting around Grandma's kitchen one day after lunch and Gia had you just rolling laughing! It was the sweetest sounds we had ever heard! Daddy was able to get it on video with his phone! You now will laugh for us when you are in the mood and we just love hearing it every time!

We started putting you in your exersaucer this month, and so far you really like it! You still can't sit up in the middle, so you lean to the front. This still allows you to play (or munch on!) all of the toys! You can even kick off the bottom and bounce yourself up and down! It won't be long until you are in that thing non-stop!

We were very busy this month, and took you all over the US! Ok, not really, but it sure did feel like it! We traveled to San Antonio to see Opa, Oma, Uncle Adam, Uncle Kevin, and Sarah! Gia came along to visit and help babysit you! It was a great weekend! We also took you this past weekend for your first airplane ride! We flew to Las Vegas from Midland so that we could visit your Uncles, and so we could go to a horse show in Flagstaff! You were SUCH a good baby! You didn't cry at all on the plane! Everyone around us commented on how good you were! Mommy was very nervous about flying with you, but as always, you showed us what an outstanding baby you are! The horse show was a lot of fun and everyone thought you were so cute! You loved hanging out with Nana and Aunt Kassie and Kristen. You also got to meet Auntie Diwen when we were in Vegas! She gave you the cutest little giraffe named Nigel! He'll be a good buddy of yours!

We celebrated your first 4th of July this month... but it was very different from the 4th's we are used to. This year, since it hasn't rained in forever, we had to watch fireworks on TV. Bummer! We had Pop & Gia and Jade & Omer over for hot dogs and snacks. It was still fun, just not what we are used to! You had a super cute onesie though! ;-) Mommy made sure you were dressed patriotically!

You are constantly moving! You really are quite the little wiggle worm! Like I said before, we can't lay you anywhere without you rolling over. Plus, you recently decided that laying on your tummy was for the birds, and so have started to tuck your knees up under you and push off!!! You're on your way to crawling already! Mommy is going through some serious "where did my baby go?!" moments! Mommy and Daddy need to baby-proof the house because it won't be too long until you're mobile! You really are advanced for your age!

Playing with Max!

Teething has been an issue, and this past week you really had a rough go of it. By rough I mean you were slightly fussier than normal! ;-) Your hands are ALWAYS in your mouth.... if your paci is not! You stick everything that is in your hand in your mouth as well. We have a "book" that is just pictures and crinkly paper. It is your favorite! It made the long plane ride bearable and you love to play with it and stick it in your mouth! We have tried to give you teethers but you still don't want to hold them. Mommy thinks you have a small mouth or something! ;-)

See? Hands in mouth! ;-)

You still love your swing, love bath time, and love looking outward. I don't know if I mentioned it last month of not but you do not like to be held like a baby anymore. Unless of course you are realllly tired! You do like be snuggled and put to sleep with your Douglas (Douglas is your little horse lovey).

Definitely not ready for a sibling, huh? ;-)

You still eat great and this past month we bumped you up to 6 ounces at a time! Wow! You eat it without a problem most of the time! You still eat every 4 hours during the day, but have been letting us go 8 to 12 hours at night! Woo hoo! You still wake up once a night around 4am or so, but Mommy has been putting your paci back in and you fall back asleep. We still have not moved you to your crib since you don't sleep all night. We're hoping that once you start rice cereal here soon that you will sleep better. You're starting to outgrow the cradle, so we need to move you soon! You move so much that we always find you in different positions when you wake up. When you're in a pack-n-play you will turn 180 degrees just by kicking yourself around! It's really funny!

Most of your clothes are finally 3-6 month. However, you can still wear a bunch of your 0-3 onesies, or your just 3 month ones. We only bumped you up the size about midway through this month. Some of the 3-6 clothes are too loose on your body, and the PJ's are a little long. You wear a size 2 diaper very comfortably, so we won't have to move you for a bit! When Mommy weighed you at home you were about 14 1/2 lbs. We won't go to the doctor for another week and a half (thanks to back-to-school), so we won't have any official measurements until then!

Every month, every day, we thank God for you. You are such a blessing. You are the happiest baby and we are so happy that you are ours! We are so grateful! Can't wait to see what next month holds!

We love you more and more each day.... if that is even truly possible! =)

Happy Birthday, my sweet baby boy. I love you!

Love,
Mommy