Someone’s a night owl like me

Time: 2310

Travis: Cooing and smiling next to me

Me: Travis, it’s not playtime, it’s sleep time. You’re the only baby awake right now.

Travis: Let’s out a big smile and a happy scream

Feeling under the weather

Travis had his 2 month old check up yesterday and vaccinations. He’s 12lbs and 9oz and 21 1/2 inches. He’s on the 80th percentile for weight, 20th percentile for height, and 24th percentile for head circumference. He also received his 2 month old vaccinations yesterday and according to my mom and hubby, he was a very brave little boy! He only cried for about five seconds and stopped! I was sad that I couldn’t go since I had to be at work, but there will be more appointments to come that I’ll be able to go to.

Unfortunately, baby boy is feeling a bit under the weather because he got a fever from his shots. I got a bit worried last night because his temperature rectally was 101.7, but he was still cooing and smiling at me so I wasn’t on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. However, I called the nurse on call anyway (just to be sure) and she told me it was fine and to call back if his rectal temperature went up to 102, has a fever for more than 48 hours or if he starts acting lethargic.

Hopefully baby boy will feel better today!

Happy 2 months!

Happy 2 months baby Travis! Another month has passed and you’re another month older. As always, me and your dad are learning more about your budding personality with each passing day. In the past month I have learned that:

• You don’t like to be swaddled anymore - when I found out about this, I was a bit sad because seeing you all swaddled up happens to be one of my favorite images.
• You love it when me and your dad tickle your nose. You always give us a happy smile when we do it.
• One of your favorite past times is to coo at me and your dad while we’re talking to you and cooing in general.
• You don’t need to be rocked to sleep anymore. I haven’t sat on the glider to rock you to bed for a good two weeks now. This also makes me sad as I liked rocking you to sleep and looking at your smiles as you fall asleep. 
• You now wear 3-6 month clothing and have moved on to size 2 diapers.
• You’re drinking 4oz of breast milk now.
• You’re getting better at making yourself fall asleep.
• You refuse to do tummy time unless you can see the TV! Sigh, I’m not too happy that you like the TV already so early, but I think you find it interesting because of all the lights, people, and sound.
• You love to fall asleep while doing tummy time on top of me.
• You like to stare at JJ especially after he sneaked in a kiss to your cheek while I wasn’t looking!
• You hold your head up pretty well.
• You always cry the instant your dad tries to play Call of Duty! (I find it quite hilarious)

So many changes all within a month’s time. I look forward to what I’ll discover about you this coming month…

2AM playtime?!

I don’t know what happened, but the last few days Trav seems to think that 2AM is play time! Usually he would wake up around 0100-0130 to eat and he’d fall back asleep. Oh well at least he’s not fussing. He’s just lying next to me smiling and cooing! 

Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.

- Elizabeth Stone 

Bedtime smiles

One of the things I look forward to when putting Travis to bed are the smiles that he gives as I’m rocking him to sleep. There’s nothing better than seeing his toothless grin with his half closed eyes and peaceful face as he drifts off to dreamland.

Travis finally settled down for a bit so I can make dinner. He’s been somewhat fussy this whole day! He’s finally distinguishing day and night and thankfully he’s fussy during the day and not in the middle of the night!

He’s also getting used to his bedtime routine. This past week, I didn’t even have to rock him to sleep! After getting him washed up, dressed in his pajamas, fed, and changed I lay him down on the bassinet and turn on his lullabies and after about half an hour or so he’s fast asleep. He’s also doing a bit better on his night feedings. A few weeks ago, he would fuss after eating and changing (basically he wouldn’t sleep unless I held him), but now he just goes straight back to bed as long as I turn on his lullabies. Hopefully this isn’t just a fluke and would actually last.

Besides that, I have my six week postpartum checkup tomorrow! I wonder if my OB is going to check my cervix? Not to be TMI, but I hope she doesn’t because I’m scared that it’ll hurt :(

My oh my

Travis is such a big baby now! We went to the pediatrician today to get part of his cord cauterized (a little part didn’t come off with the rest) and his weight was 10lbs and 3oz! Oh my goodness! He’s only six weeks old meaning he’s gained 4lbs (his birth weight was 6lbs 3oz)!

I guess I can safely assume that my breastmilk is doing him good :)

First smile

Travis gave us his first real smile today. I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it felt to see him smile at me and Joseph. It happened while all three of us were hanging out at the couch. We were talking to him and giving him eskimo kisses. Suddenly the cutest and widest grin came out while staring at us with those big gray eyes of his. It was one of the most adorable thing ever!

Seeing him smile definitely made any ounce of tiredness and sleep deprivation float right out of the door. 

Happy 1 month!

My baby is 1 month old today! Time flies by so FAST :) I can’t believe it.. my baby is growing up! 

I can’t believe my baby is already one month! The past month has definitely brought about many changes to me and Joseph’s lives. From the moment he was born, Travis has made our days brighter and happier. 

He’s grown so much this past month. He went from 6lbs 3oz to 9lbs 1oz. He’s now drinking about 4oz of breast milk and drinks about 3oz of formula (at night or when we’re out). 90% of his feedings are breast milk though. He’s been sleeping about 3-4 hours at a time versus 2 hours at a time when we first brought him home from the hospital. He’s still fitting into his newborn clothes, but they’e starting to get tight so I think this weekend I may have to put away his newborn clothes for good! 

Travis is also becoming a bit more social. He likes to stare at me and his dad. He’s gotten accustomed to tummy time and has been able to hold his head up for a few minutes at a time. He loves his play gym, especially the purple elephant. Everytime I put him in his gym, he’s always staring and hitting the elephant. He’s also been able to roll onto his side. He still loves to be swaddled, but likes his arms above his head (he gets very angry if his arms are swaddled). 

First halloween

So my plans for Travis’s first Halloween did not go through, while it’s not a major holiday I did have visions of dressing him up in a costume! My cousin gifted us an adorable pumpkin costume a few months back and I was excited for him to wear it so I can take numerous pictures. However, I ended up keeping him in his Halloween outfit for the day since he was starting to get a bit fussy and I didn’t want him having a fit for just the purpose of putting him in a costume.

Anyhow, I still think he looks adorable :) 

Daddy goes back to work

Well for the meantime anyway! Anyhow, since he got switched to midnight to 0800 this means that it’ll be my first night with Travis all by myself! Hopefully it won’t be too difficult. Joseph is a big help especially at night since he feeds, changes, and puts Travis back to bed so I can go pump.

Here’s to a hopefully good yet sleepless night!

Happy 2 weeks Travis!

He’s enjoying the new swing we bought him. Earlier we purchased the Bright Starts Ingenuity Cradle & Sway Swing from Target. It went on sale for $122 versus the $129 and best of all it came with a free bouncer! We already have a bouncer (two actually, so the free one was a third one), but we’re going to stash it away for either our next child (which won’t be for a while) or just in case the bouncer we have breaks. 

Besides that, Travis had a two week follow up appointment today. He gained some weight. Last week he was 6lbs 6oz and today he was 7lbs 3oz! He gained a whole pound so far from his birth weight of 6lbs 3oz. His pediatrician did the basic assessment and everything was well. The MD also prescribed some vitamins for him since he’s getting mostly breast milk and breast milk is low in iron and vitamin D. I’m kind of surprised though that his MD gave him vitamins since I give him 2 feedings of formula for the middle of the night feedings (Daddy feeds it to him while I pump). 

Next appointment will be sometime around December 7th for his two month checkup! He’ll be getting his first round of vaccinations then, hopefully he’ll take it well. 

A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires. 

- Paul Coelho 

First outing

So the other day Joseph, me, and my mom took Travis to the Commissary after his follow up weight check (note: I don’t count doctor visits as public outings). I was feeling somewhat nervous taking him out the first time because all I could think about was, “What if he starts screaming and crying and I can’t stop him?” There’s nothing worse than a screaming baby and having everyone looking at you and possibly thinking, “Why can’t she shut her baby up?” 

So before leaving the house, I made sure to triple check his diaper bag to ensure that I have everything in there that I needed. Thankfully, Travis was a good boy and quiet for almost the entire time we were grocery shopping. He cried a bit while we were grocery shopping because it was time for his feeding. So once he was fed and burped, he went right back to sleep (I’m sure the movement of the stroller helped as well). 

My parents took Travis for the night and I miss him SO much! My parents aren’t even that far away, they’re actually just down the hallway, but they took Travis to spend the night with them because they wanted Joseph and I to get some sleep. While I’m thankful and glad that I can get some sleep, I miss him terribly. Even though he’s just down the hall it feels like he’s so far away :( 

Can’t wait to see my baby boy in the morning. 

Today was baby Travis’s one week. I can’t believe a week has already passed by since I gave birth to him. I’m healing well from the delivery. I ended up with a first degree tear, so the pain has been minimal. My body just feels so different. I wonder if my body will ever be the same again? I suppose only time will tell. I don’t regret all these changes one bit. I would do it all over again because Travis brings so much happiness in my life.

We didn’t do much today. We went to the clinic because his pediatrician wanted a follow up weight check. Two days ago his weight was 6lb 2oz, an increase from his discharge weight of 5lb 13oz (his birth weight was 6lb 3oz). He was weight today was 6lb 6oz! I’m glad my baby boy is gaining some weight! The breast milk that I’ve been pumping out for him has been doing him well.

After the clinic, we went to the Commissary for some grocery shopping. I was somewhat nervous since this was the first time taking him out in public. Thankfully it was a slow day so it wasn’t all chaotic and loud. He was a good boy the whole time. He only cried once because it was time for his feeding. Other than that, he was asleep the whole time.

Thankfully tomorrow is Friday! My dad and sister are coming up from SoCal and my aunt and uncle are also driving to our place from San Jose. On Saturday, my cousin and her family are coming over from San Francisco for a little family gathering. I’m totally looking forward to this weekend! Can’t wait!

Happy 1 week!

Happy 1 week my sweet baby! I can’t believe it’s already been a week since I gave birth to you. Feels like it was yesterday. Within this week I’ve already learned so much about your little personality. Despite the nights of no sleep, you always bring a smile to my face and a lot of love in my heart.    

Travis had his 2 day follow up appointment today. Everything went great. He’s almost back to his birth weight of 6lb 3oz. When we were discharged from the hospital, his weight was 5lb 13oz and when he was weighed today at the pediatrician’s office he was at 6lb 2oz! We have a follow up appointment at 2 weeks, hopefully he would gain more weight.

Breastfeeding has been giving me some problems. While at the hospital I had a consultation with the lactation consultant due to Travis not opening his mouth wide enough so I can get my nipple and aereola in. She helped me latch him on and he was nursing alright while we were in the hospital. Once we got home (about 3 days old), I would put him to breast and he would latch on for about a minute or so then come off and start screaming. On top of that I noticed that he wasn’t really urinating that much (he only had two wet diapers for that whole day). My mom then urged me to give him a bottle since he was literally crying, screaming, and rooting. I was feeding him both breasts every 2 hours (I would wake him up) and try to nurse at least 15 minutes on each, but for some reason he was just not having it. I would put him skin to skin, annoy him so he would stay awake, etc. Anyhow after giving him a bottle he ended up urinating a few hours later and sleeping much better.

To make a long story short (as if what I wrote in the previous paragraph wasn’t long enough), feeding time became a constant battle of trying to make him open his mouth wide, latching on, making him stay awake, etc. He was miserable and I was miserable. Thankfully, my best friend gave me a single electric pump for my baby shower and I’ve been using it to pump my breast milk. I have had to supplement formula from time to time since I’ve been able to only pump 1-1.5oz. It just seems so little so I’ve been supplementing with 1oz formula if he’s still hungry after I give him my breast milk.

I was going to invest in a much better pump prior to returning to work, but I think I will have to invest in one sooner (as in now) since this single electric pump isn’t very effective in terms of time. I’m thinking of either Ameda, Medela, or Lansinoh double electric pumps. Has anyone tried any of those brands?

Meet my baby boy

Travis Anthony

October 7, 2010 at 1054 AM

6lbs 3oz and 19 inches