Declan at 4 Months

Declan: Four Months

• You weigh 13 lbs
• You are 24 inches long
• You are now taking 4-6 (mostly 6 ounces every 4-5 hours)
• You have a pretty set bedtime (7:00) unless we are out somewhere. You usually only wake up once during the night to eat, but that varies (anytime between 11:30pm-1:30am). You usually wake up earlier during the week than the weekend just because we are getting around to go to work and making noise. 
• You poop about once or twice a day. And they are always nasty smelling.
• You still are wearing a size 1 diaper, but will probably move out of them soon and we found size 2 over night diapers that you now sleep in.
• Your hair has started to really come in! Right now its really light brown/blonde.
• Your eyes are still a pretty dark blue. You have really long eyelashes.
• You love to kick the toys hanging from your carseat handle.
• You love to "talk"
• You had you 100 day birthday on Feb 20. 
• You still spit up some not nothing like it, or we are getting better at not moving you around a lot.
• You rolled from you tummy to your back while at Nanny B's last week and did it all weekend long!
• You sleep in a sleep sack (with your arms free because you like them above your head) at night time and once you are wrapped up and I put your paci in and you fall asleep within minutes. 
• You are such a good baby and so sweet!
• You are almost too long for your 3 month clothes so you are wearing a lot of  3-6 month clothes, although they are too long on you. 
• We've started to play peekaboo, and you love it! Your smile is amazing when you see us!
• You like the TV, I put my hand in the way of the tv and your eyes and you move side to side and up and down to see it. It's pretty funny! 

{FOUR MONTHS}

{best smile ever}

{nap time}

{hanging with mommy}

{pooping, maybe}

{love your face}

{kisses}

{100 days old}

{bear suit - it was so cold outside}

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

xoxo

ac

Declan at 3 Months

Declan: Three Months

• You weigh 12 pounds

• You are wearing size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothes

• You are 23 inches long

• You drink 3-4 ounces at a time.

• You still spit up. A lot. 

• You do tummy time before you eat because you throw up every time you lay down after a feeding so we have to keep you propped up

• We have started putting you in your bumbo for a little bit and your getting better and staying in it longer all the time!

• Your last feeding is usually between 6:30-7:30. 

• We started to swaddle you and put you to bed around 7:30, sometimes your easy and go right to sleep but then the past 3 or 4 nights you have cried for over 30 mins and then finally gave up and went to sleep.

• You take a dream feed around 11:30pm and go back to sleep right after until about 5 sometimes 6am! 

• You go to your Mimi's house every morning and she changes your diaper, clothes, and feeds you if you don't wait up early and then she takes you to Nanny B.

• You started day care at 9 weeks. 

• You LOVE Nanny B.

• You are starting to look more like your daddy.

• You laughed for the first time Sunday January 25 when I told you to never like Texas or Oklahoma football.

• You still like your car seat unless the car isn't moving.

• Your smile is amazing, I will do anything to make you smile.

• You love watching the colors on the TV.

• You can roll from you back to your sides.

• You had your first sleep over at Mimi's and Poppi's house while we spent the night in Oklahoma!

• You had your first Valentines party today!! Lucky for me your nanny took pictures!!

{THREE MONTHS}

{valentines party at the nanny's}

{you look so serious}

{baby batman}

{baby superman}

{your stretching is so adorable}

{haha, you look scared}

{sleeping like an angel}

{siting up like a big boy}

{so sweet looking}

{looking like your about to beat someone}

{fell asleep}

{i'm making funny faces at you}

{so so so sweet}

 You are my everything, Declan.

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

xoxo

ac

Declan at 2 Months

Declan: Two months

• Weigh 11 lbs (30th percentile) and are in a size 1 diaper and 0-3 month clothes. 

• You are 22.5 inches long (25th percentile)!

• Your head is 15.25 inches (40 percentile)

• You take a 4oz bottle every 3-5 hours. 

• It takes you anywhere from 15-45 mins to finish a bottle.

• We have started to give you gas medicine once to twice a day. It seems to help you not have a tummy ache. 

• Your last feeding is usually around midnight and then will wake up usually around 5:30-6 for your morning feeding falling asleep around 2-3 ounces and wake back up around 9 am.

• You are starting to hold your head up and only bobble a little bit.

• You started to coo and smiling at 6 weeks

• Your cooing is so much fun, we love to hear you "talk" and you want to talk so bad. You want to make the nosies we are making but you can't just yet.

• You still love to sleep but you are starting to stay awake a little bit longer than you did last month.

• You still don't mind being in your car seat as long as the car is in motion or your someone is rocking the seat like its a swing.

• You still love your paci! 

• You got a new toy last week, a tummy mat and it has a mirror on it so when you're on your tummy you can look at yourself. You don't hate tummy time as much you used to.

• You kick your arms and legs when you want food and you scream if we don't get a bottle or paci to you as fast as you want!

• You have found your hands/fingers and if your paci isn't in your month you suck on your thumbs/fists.

• We celebrated your first Christmas and New Years Eve in the past month. You did great and everyone still loves you!

• You went to Missouri for the first time December 17 and to Oklahoma on December 19.

• You got your first cold/runny nose on January 9th. You were still cooing and smiling even though I know you didn't feel great. You hate having your nose messed with.

• You got your first set of shots today, you started crying before the nurse came in the room to give you your shots, and cried for about 10 seconds after the shots were done and haven't cried since! 

States visited as of January 2015:
Arkansas 
Missouri
Oklahoma

{TWO MONTHS}

{early christmas with your nana and papaw's family in little rock}

 

{first time in benton getting to meet the rest of your family. 

your aunts and uncles are crazy about you}

{your first birthday party and got a sweet kiss from the birthday girl}

{you got to meet your first princess}

{first time at lights of the ozarks - 2014}

{christmas eve at mimi's and poppi's}

{ugly sweater theme - christmas in benton}

Happy 2 Month Birthday Baby Boy!

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

xoxo

ac

I miss you K

2014 was the most exciting yet saddest year at the same time.

When I was about 3 months pregnant I got the call that my cousin had taken her own life. She left her parents, brother, sister, 4 beautiful children, and other family members behind. She was 38 years old.

When I was little I looked up to her as a big sister. She was my favorite. When I got older we slowly started to grow apart. She started her family and I was going to college and never had time to go visit. In 2009 she had her last baby, a beautiful little girl, but she couldn't take care of her. She started taking pills and doing drugs. She went to get help a few times that year and the years following but that didn't work. I stopped talking to her at that point, wouldn't even look at her if we were in the same room when I went to visit my aunt and uncle. Looking back now I think she had postpartum depression and it was never taken care of and went in to depression. I wish I could have done something. I could have asked her how she was doing and not just left her. I wish could have saved her. But I didn't do anything. I will never forgive myself for not telling her that I loved her and that I was there for her, even though she wasn't the same person I used to know.

K, I pray for you in heaven and I pray for your children. I pray for your almost 16 year old daughter that won't get to have you there to help her get ready for prom or won't be there to help her pick out a college or decide on what degree to pursue, nor help her get ready at her wedding. I pray for your 10 year old son that didn't get to have you as a mom and won't get to have a mother-son dance at his wedding. I pray for your 9 year old daughter who probably won't remember you when she grows up. I pray for your 5 year old daughter that is being raised by her grandparents, my aunt and uncle, while she remembers you coming around, you weren't there like you should have been. I pray that one day these children will forgive you and understand that it wasn't you that did this, it was the depression that took you away from us, not just in May of 2014 but years ago.

K, when I look up in the sky and I see a star brighter than the others, I believe its you looking down on us and watching us, wishing you where still here with us.

{love you and miss you k}

{christmas 2007}


xoxo
ac

If you know someone that you think may have postpartum please take time out of your day and talk to them about it and see that they get some help. 

http://www.postpartumprogress.com/the-symptoms-of-postpartum-depression-anxiety-in-plain-mama-english

Telling Our Family We Were Expecting!

After being married for 4 years I think our family gave up on us having any children.... But little did they know we were just on a 5 year plan!

We are planners, we plan everything but after taking 2 or 3 tests in January and those being negative I just gave up on it happening when I wanted it to happen. I was working out all the time trying to lose some weight but I had stop losing any so finally on March 10th I took another test and it was positive! I freaked out and started crying, I couldn't believe it, we were pregnant! J wanted to wait to tell our family until after we confirmed it with the doctor.  After getting to see the little baby on an ultrasounds and about 6 weeks later, on Easter, we finally told our family.  J designed an Easter card to tell everyone that we were expecting a little one. The card had a bunny on the front, then it opened up saying "Hippity Hop the Easter Bunny has some Eggstraordinary News"... and on the back said "We are Eggspecting!' Coming November 2014!"


We secretly recorded our family's reactions when we told them we were pregnant. I am so happy we did this so we can go back and watch it and see how happy they are to find out they are going to be grandparents, great grandparents, and great aunts/uncles.

We told J's mom and grandmother at the same time and then when the rest of the family showed up for Easter lunch we told them.

{j's Mom}

{j's grandmother)

{my mom}

{j's aunt(his mom's sister)}

A few weeks later we told j's dad and stepmom.

{J's Stepmom}

{j's dad}

{j's step sister and brothers}

{my aunt (my mom's sister)}

{my aunt, uncle and cousin (my dad's sister)}

I still cry while watching these videos and seeing how excited everyone was for us and our little baby. And also how fast they already love the baby.

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

xoxo

ac

Declan at 1 Month

Declan: One Month

• You eat 3 ounces every 3-4 hours, most of the time it only takes you 20-30 minutes but there are times its takes a full hour to drink the bottle. 
• You wear newborn diapers but are outgrowing some of your newborn clothes
• You weigh 9.5 pounds!
• You love to sleep, all the time, unless its 2am when your dad wants to go bed then your wide awake.
• At night you sleep for 3-4 hours at a time, you've done a 5 hour stretch once and it was amazing.
• You spit up and get hiccups a lot!!
• You sleep next to me but in your bassinet. Sometimes you have to move to my chest so we can all get sleep. 
• You are a loud sleeper, but I'm starting to get used to it and if you don't make your loud nosies I check on you to make sure you are breathing.
• You have done some tummy time mostly laying on my chest or your daddy's chest.
• You cry like crazy when your daddy changes your diaper but not if I change it.
• You HATE bath time... It's like we are torturing you but once you are dry and put clothes back on you stop crying.
• My favorite part of day with you is when you start to fall asleep on me and you open your eyes one last time to make sure I'm still there and you smile and go back to sleep.
• You can fall asleep anywhere, just like your me!
• You like your paci but you don't have to have it all the time. Usually about 30 mins before its time to eat.
• Everyone thinks you look like me, I see some of your daddy in you but right now, you look like me.
• You don't mind being in your car seat and once the car is moving you go to sleep, which is a good thing because we love to travel! Hopefully it will stay like that!
• You are starting to smile and it's so cute!
• We celebrated your first Thanksgiving, you were 2 weeks and 1 day!

{ONE MONTH)

{you have so many friends and family that love you so much}

{family all month long came to meet you}

{first razorback game}

{my mom's best friend}

{first thanksgiving - 2 weeks old}

{pepaw loving on you}

{3 days old and lots of family came to see you)

{4 generations - mooh, gigi, j and declan}

{my most favorite aunt and uncle}

{3 generations, papaw, j and declan}

While we are still getting used to managing life with a newborn and it's exhausting, but in the most wonderful way and we wouldn't change it for the world!

Happy 1 Month Birthday Baby Boy!

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

xoxo

ac