Owen - 4.5 months

In two weeks, Owen will be 5 months old! I guess that makes him about 4.5 months, then. We had him weighed yesterday and he was 16lb 7oz and 26.5 inches long. He's gained 3 ounces in 3.5 days! He's still not sitting up or rolling over, but I don't give him much opportunity to do so. I'd like to keep him immobile for as long as possible! He can roll onto his side when he's on his back, so I'm sure it won't be long.

He made his first trip to the Christmas tree farm yesterday. It was in he mid-40s, so not too bad. He hung out in the Bjorn and never made a peep.

He loves to look around and Gabe and Reese love to act silly and make him laugh.

Most of his 3-6 month clothes are officially too short, so we're mainly in 6-12 months now. Still hanging in the size 3 diapers, so they're either making them much more absorbent now, or he's much smaller or poops much less than Gabe did.

He's getting easier to put down at night and has been sleeping a little later lately. Maybe until 3-ish. We're still a long way from sleeping through night, I fear.

pink eye

Reese has her fist case of pink eye. Yuck! I hate pink eye, and I get it almost every time the kids do. So far, I'm clear. I tried to get her doc to call in a prescription late Friday afternoon, but she said she'd have to see her first. I have some left over eye drops from the last time I had it, so we've been giving those to her and it seems to be helping. She didn't sleep very well last night, and she took a very early nap this morning. I guess we'll be heading to the doctor on Monday!

Gabe funny

Gabe has started a 'game' of saying, "I love you more" when you tell him you love him. So, we're playing his game in bed this morning, and he ends it by saying, "I love you the mostest in the whole city." :)

4-month checkup

We had Owen's 4-month checkup this week. We found a new pediatrician, and I absolutely loved her! Finally! She is about to move offices, though, so I'm just praying it's not a million miles away and this will be the end to our pediatrician hunt.

Owen weighs 16lb 4oz!! He seems huge to me, but that's only like 50th percentile! His head circumference was in the 75th percentile and his length was 97+. No surprise there. Gabe and Reese have always been at the top of the chart in height.

He had been very fussy for nearly a week before his appointment, and I just knew (was hoping, actually!) that he had an ear infection. Both ears looked clear, though. The next day, he was on his way back to normal, so I think he just had the same little runny nose/cold that the kids had and didn't feel well.

She said the back of his head was still ever-so lopsided, but as long as his head keeps growing and he's on track developmentally, we don't need to do anything about it. She said it might help to keep encouraging him to look to the right, since he has a preference to look to the left.

I also asked about the place near his throat that indents very deeply when he breathes. She said it will probably fix itself and will only be a problem if he gets sick and it makes it difficult for him to breathe.

He goes back in January for his 6-month checkup and I'll probably try to get the other kiddos in some time before then since they missed their regular checkups during our hunt. I'm so glad the search is over!!

Boomer! Sooner!

Owen got his first glimpse of Sooner football last night as we watched OU tromp the #2 Texas Tech Red Raiders. We've waited 8 years for season tickets, and this was the first game I've been able to go to this year since it's been too hot to take him with us. Not a problem last night! It hovered around 40 degrees, but we bundled him up in two sets of PJs, two hats and my wool coat and blanket around him. He was warmer than I was! His little warm body made for a nicer heater for me, though. He was a real trooper and even napped for a short time.

Gotta start 'em early!

Owen update - 4 months

Owen turned four months old today! Time flies when you're having fun. ;) He's such a joy to have with us. He is so content and will play for extended periods of time in his exersaucer or jumperoo. He can really bounce up and down in that thing! His favorite thing on the exersaucer is a picture of a golden retriever that looks like Mason. He's getting really good at reaching out to play with the toys. Both of the seats rotate 360 degrees and it doesn't take him long to go for a spin!

He can still fit in his 3-6 month clothes, but I've started pulling out the 6-12 stuff already. We go for his 4-month checkup on December 1st, but he was over 15 pounds on the 11th.

He's such a happy baby and it doesn't take much for anyone to get a smile out of him. He's getting more and more content with other people, but he still won't take a bottle. He keeps his little hands in his mouth most of the time, but won't take a pacifier. He's such a drooler, too! I wonder if he'll get teeth before the other two did (Gabe at 12 months, Reese around 8 months.)

His sleep at night is regressing a bit. He will usually wake between 12 and 2 for his first feeding, and then another time or two before morning. I try to put him back in his bed after the first feeding, but his favorite place to sleep is nursing nestled up next to me, and I usually oblige him after the 2nd waking. ;)

Gabe and Reese are still crazy about him and love to hold him. Gabe is especially proud when I let him hold Owen while Gabe is standing up. Apparently, so is Reese! I left Owen on her bed and went to get the car ready. Before I knew it, she had carried him all the way to the garage! I can't believe she didn't drop him. He's over half her weight!

overheard in Gabe's room

A couple of nights ago, Gabe and Reese were in Gabe's room playing. I heard him tell her that he loves her, and she repeated the sentiment. Then they started in a battle of, "I love you more" "no, I love you more" "no, I love you more." Finally, it ended when Gabe said, "But I like Daddy more than you." :)

Owen update - 3.5 months

Just a few little Owen tidbits!

Owen is laughing more and more. He will giggle just about every time he's tickled. I've also noticed that he is starting to grab things. I attached a toy to his carseat and I hear him playing with it while we're driving.

I realized the other day that the squeaky windpipe thing is finally gone. I guess he outgrew it.

He's just about too big to bathe in the bathtub side-to-side. I'll have to start putting him in the tub front-to-back. I've started putting him in size 3 diapers at night for extra absorbency. As soon as the 2s are gone, we'll go completely to 3s. His size 3-6 clothes are getting more and more snug. Size 6-12 is still a bit big, but it won't be long!

Halloween

Just a few pics from Halloween. My littlest subjects weren't quite as cooperative as the big one. ;)

This year, we went to Dad's work on Thursday (the day before Halloween) and scored a huge loot of candy. That night, we went to the Fall Festival at church. Not so much candy there, but we had lots of fun having dinner with our friends, the Elledge's. Reese and Cameron had a ball playing together while Gabe and I went around to each room playing games. On Halloween night, we had dinner with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Pat, Uncle Don and cousin Shelley, so we skipped trick-or-treating. We already have enough candy to last a year!

3-month update

Owen turned three months old yesterday! I guess he's officially an infant and no longer a newborn. :( Most of the time, he's such a happy baby...when he's being held. He is starting to sit in his jungle jumperoo for longer periods of time now. He still loves the swing for naps, but not when he's awake. When he's awake, he wants to be upright and standing. He'll still hang out in the bouncy seat for a few minutes while I cook dinner and eat, but not much longer.

He's sleeping for long stretches in his crib at night. He usually wakes around 4 or 5 to eat. Most of the time, he'll go back to sleep in our bed while he's nursing. Occasionally, he can't get settled in, so I'll be him in the swing for the next couple of hours.

He can still wear his 3-6 month clothes, but it won't be long before he's firmly in 6-12. He's also in size 2 diapers, but I probably won't buy any more in that size. Once they're gone, we'll move him into size 3. He may be a bit smaller than Gabe was. Gabe moved up a size in diapers every month until he was 5 months old!

He's started "talking" more. It's so cute to listen to his little coos. This morning, I thought Gabe was in the living room talking, but it was Owen in swing just babbling away.

He smiles all the time, but it's rare to get a little laugh out of him. He LOVES to have his diaper and clothes changed, so that's usually when I can get a big smile and little giggle out of him.

We left him for the first time a couple of weeks ago. We went to a wedding and I pumped a couple of bottles for him. Grammy came over to watch the kids, and he did great! Guess that means I've bought myself a little freedom! He still won't take a pacifier, but he finds his hands to suck on occasionally.

We don't go to the doctor again for another month, but he was 14lb. 3oz. about 10 days ago. He's a little chunk! Everyone things he's about 6 months old.

As Gabe says nearly every day, "I love the baby!" Here are some pics I took yesterday.

Is that laughter I hear?

I think Owen may have laughed tonight. I thought he did a day or so ago, but tonight, he was smiling and made some noises that definitely sounded like laughter. I guess we'll see!

movin' on up

How can my barely two-month old baby be wearing 6-12 month clothes?? I tried on a 6-12 month summer outfit, thinking it would be huge, but it fits perfectly! Yikes!

Sleeping in the crib

Owen slept in his crib for the first time last night. This is really early for me! Gabe and Reese didn't move to the crib until around 6 months. I'm starting to worry about his flat head, though, so I thought we'd give that a try. He definitely didn't sleep as well as he does in the bouncy seat. I think Reese woke him up once when she started crying around 1:00 and then he woke up again a few hours later. He NEVER wakes up twice in one night! I guess we'll try for a few more nights. He was pretty congested by morning.

New record

A few nights ago, Owen slept until *6:30* before waking up!! He's such a good sleeper, and rarely gets up before 4. He usually wakes up to eat around 5. This has been such a nice way to transition to three kiddos for me! I'm not as tired as I was after Gabe and Reese were born.

We had his two-month check up on Monday. He weighed 14 pounds (~75th percentile) and was 24 inches long (~50th percentile.) Very healthy and normal, other than a bit of a lopsided flat head. The doctor said he favors turning his head to the left, so we need to work on getting him to turn his head to his right. I have noticed that he always has his head cocked to the left, so I guess we need to try to break that so we don't end up wearing a helmet. I've seen kids have to do that. No fun!

8 weeks old

Almost two months. Amazing. Unbelievable. He still seems so much a newborn to me, compared to my other two at this age. He still sleeps quite a bit, unlike my other two did. He LOVES the swing, unlike my other two did. See a pattern here? :)

Owen is such a good baby. Despite the noisy toddlers, he sleeps much of the day in his swing, with occasional 1-2 hour awake periods. During those, he'll often sit in the bouncy seat for extended periods of time, just happy as a clam (Gabe and Reese NEVER did that!) He does like to be held (by mom) and nursed, but he is often content just hanging out.

He's SUCH a good night sleeper, compared to Gabe and Reese. He rarely wakes up before 3 a.m. and will sometimes go until 4 or 5 before waking up to nurse. SO much better than every two hours, like the other two. ;) We still have him sleeping in his bouncy seat in the living room just outside our door. He still seems so congested if he sleeps on his back, and the bouncy seat seems to be working for us. We swaddle him tight, which he seems to like.

I can still squeeze him into a few of my favorite 0-3 month outfits, but the 3-6 month outfits fit perfectly. He's in size 1 diapers during the day and size 2 at night. Trying to use up all the size 1's before they don't fit any longer!

I bought him a new carseat after both our travel systems sold (and the carseats along with them!) Wow, have carseats changed in the last 4 years! I LOVE the Chicco KeyFit 30. It will go up to 30 pounds (unless he outgrows it in height first) and is SO easy to install. The fabric also came in his "signature color" of orange. :) We also have his convertible carseat waiting for him when he outgrows this seat. I bought it when I was working to have an extra for Gabe and Reese, knowing we would need it for the new baby anyway.

He's been smiling for about 2 weeks now. If you can just make eye contact with him, he'll flash you a big one. So sweet!

I think I've about given up on the pacifier. As much as I actually wanted him to take one, he just won't (just like the other two!)

We have his two-month checkup coming up. I'm excited to see how much he weighs. He was 10 pounds at two weeks, so I'm just hoping he's not something crazy like 15 pounds now. We finally had his hearing tested, since we didn't have it done in the hospital. He passed with flying colors!

Healthy and happy, we couldn't ask for more!

Gabe funny

Yesterday we were leaving the neighborhood and Gabe commented on the cable truck that was parked in the street. When we returned a few hours later, the truck was still there. He said, "They must be getting a lot of commercials at their house!"

First day of Preschool

We've decided to keep Gabe home this year and try our hand at homeschooling, before it really counts. ;) Since this is new to me, too, we decided to put him in a homeschooling co-op. He'll (we'll) get instruction from a tutor one day a week and do the rest at home. We're following the Classical education approach, which is quite a rigorous model. A far cry from the education received in public schools!

So, on the first day, they asked all of the students to give an oral presentation about themselves. Knowing Gabe, I thought there would be no way he'd do this. I really talked it up for a few days beforehand and we practiced. I also made up some notecards for him to use to remind him of what he would say. It went better than I could have expected! He skipped a few cards that stuck together, but he got up there with no fussing and gave his presentation like we had practiced.

We're also working on the memory verse for next week: John 1:1. He's just about got it, but still gets the last two phrases mixed up. His reward (from his tutor) is a quarter for the candy machine, so he's pretty motivated to get it memorized!

Five weeks old

I knew these first precious weeks would fly by, and they have. Much as I've tried to enjoy every minute of it, I still find myself asking, "How can he POSSIBLY be five weeks old already??"

Thankfully, he still feels very much like a newborn to me. I absolutely love this newborn period. He is, by far, my best sleeper so far. He still sleeps ALL the time, and I really don't remember Gabe and Reese sleeping this much. I've stuck with the swaddling this time, which may help his nighttime sleeping. He will sleep anywhere from 4-6 hours the first stretch before waking up to eat. Usually, it' s a quick snack and right back to sleep. Occasionally, it will take 30-60 minutes to get him back to sleep. Not too bad. He loves to nap in the swing during the day. I worry that I'm going to run into a problem when I try to switch him to the crib! Neither of my first two liked the swing this much.

I just put him in his first 3-6 month outfit today. I knew his 0-3 were getting tight, but I also knew that once I brought out the 3-6 month stuff, there was no turning back. :( I bought him several 6-12 month winter outfits today at the consignment sale. I hope he still fits into them by then!

He is absolutely adored by his brother and sister. They still constantly ask to hold him, and love to give him kisses. We are all pretty smitten!

I've crossed over...

...to the dark side.

Not that I really think my life is all that interesting that other people would want to read about it. But, I really want to chronicle my children's lives for their own posterity and for my own sentimentality. ;)

I hope to print these entries regularly to put in their baby books and maybe some day make a scrapbook with all those supplies taking up a third of my closet space. :0