Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Happy Easter Weekend....
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend...we certainly are. Daddy doesn't want to be rude and spend a lot of time in front of the computer "blogging", but pictures have been added to our family album, so be sure to check it out!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
First night, new crib
Okay, so after letting Austin sleep as long as possible in the bassinet (until he woke up), he wakened at 2:00 am. Keith (who was sleeping on the air mattress in the living room), woke up, scooped up the handsome little guy, and took him into the bedroom....and into his new crib. He was so tired, he really didn't seem to notice (or care) that he may be in new surroundings.
Christine and Keith traded places, she went into the living room on the air mattress, Keith closed the door and stayed in the bedroom with the soon-to-be screamer. Together, Keith and Christine have decided to start letting Austin cry himself to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night (instead of getting in and out of bed every 15-30 minutes to give him a pacifier to keep him quiet). So...whoever is on duty with him from this point forward will go to sleep behind a closed door in the bedroom, while the resting parent for the night will be in the comfortable (and fairly quiet) living room on the air mattress. It is a pain in the a@# to try to keep the mattress in the apartment, but if it helps keep the parent on their "off-night" well rested during the week, than it is well worth it.
Back to Austin...he fell asleep after 45 minutes of inconsistent fussing and crying. He didn't scream too loud, and Daddy got up every 8-10 minutes to rub/pat his back, shush him and sing a quick song in an effort to get him to sleep and let him know he wasn't alone/abandoned...but he wasn't getting picked or plugged up either. He slept until 4:15 am, at which point he dirtied his diaper, so he got changed and then ate at his usual time of around 4:30 am. After eating, Mommy noticed that Austin was awake when she put him down in the crib (and decided to take a picture...see below). Mommy would have preferred to stay in the bedroom, but Austin started to cry again, so she closed the door and returned to her refuge (yes, our tiny little living room is now considered a refuge). This time, Austin only cried for about 7 minutes before once again falling asleep until 7:00.
All in all, it was a very busy evening, with a lot of changes for everyone....but, hopefully, they are changes that will make us all happier and more rested in the weeks to come.
Christine and Keith traded places, she went into the living room on the air mattress, Keith closed the door and stayed in the bedroom with the soon-to-be screamer. Together, Keith and Christine have decided to start letting Austin cry himself to sleep when he wakes up in the middle of the night (instead of getting in and out of bed every 15-30 minutes to give him a pacifier to keep him quiet). So...whoever is on duty with him from this point forward will go to sleep behind a closed door in the bedroom, while the resting parent for the night will be in the comfortable (and fairly quiet) living room on the air mattress. It is a pain in the a@# to try to keep the mattress in the apartment, but if it helps keep the parent on their "off-night" well rested during the week, than it is well worth it.
Back to Austin...he fell asleep after 45 minutes of inconsistent fussing and crying. He didn't scream too loud, and Daddy got up every 8-10 minutes to rub/pat his back, shush him and sing a quick song in an effort to get him to sleep and let him know he wasn't alone/abandoned...but he wasn't getting picked or plugged up either. He slept until 4:15 am, at which point he dirtied his diaper, so he got changed and then ate at his usual time of around 4:30 am. After eating, Mommy noticed that Austin was awake when she put him down in the crib (and decided to take a picture...see below). Mommy would have preferred to stay in the bedroom, but Austin started to cry again, so she closed the door and returned to her refuge (yes, our tiny little living room is now considered a refuge). This time, Austin only cried for about 7 minutes before once again falling asleep until 7:00.
All in all, it was a very busy evening, with a lot of changes for everyone....but, hopefully, they are changes that will make us all happier and more rested in the weeks to come.
Check out Austin's new crib (literally!)
It was an arduous task, but Austin now has a crib and little section in the bedroom all to himself!
It was a busy night last night as Keith and Christine went to the baby store to pick up the crib that they had purchased on Monday (but they had to get there fast because Keith and Christine both worked until 8:45 pm). Once they got there, Austin was moved from the SUV to the car, so that the seats could be lowered to make room for the large box.
Once home, the sleeping Austin remained in the car while Mom and Dad carried the over-sized box into the apartment. Keith took the pack-and-play (that Austin had been sleeping in at night), took it apart (it wouldn't fit through the bedroom door frame fully assembled), and re-assembled it in the entrance way (after Christine and Austin had entered the apartment). After putting Austin down in the bassinet in the entrance-way (our side of the door, near our bench and shoes, if you have visited before), Keith got to building the crib while Christine pumped some more food for the boy.
Within one hour, the crib was fully assembled, without having to backtrack steps once due to error (which is as accomplishment for Keith, who has a tendency to be in too much of a hurry to focus on details). Within the next 30 minutes, the bedding was on and pictures were being taken. It looks pretty good for a small one-bedroom apartment, right?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St Patrick's Day
Austin was in a good mood all day, and everyone he came across was blown away by how cute he looked in his outfit (courtesy of the Uncle Ed, Aunt Angela, and Elizabeth). Nothing new, or eventful to report outside of how cute he looked!
Yep, it is past 3:00 am...
(old pic, not from tonight)
...and Daddy is awake after being with the boy for the last hour. Now Austin is asleep again, but Daddy is awake and can't fall back asleep (likely Karmic retribution for my own behavior as a young child, no doubt)
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A visit to Brayden
Our friends, Katie and Mike welcomed Brayden Michael to their family on March 8th. Unfortunately, with Christine having a very sore throat (which we later discovered was indeed strep), she didn't get an opportunity to meet Brayden until yesterday in the early evening. Brayden, it turns out, is a very handsome boy.
Thankfully, Austin was on his best behavior while visiting and being held (in some instances) by people he hadn't met before, such as Brayden's grandmother.
We couldn't be happier for the Dunne family and hope the years to come continue to be filled with as much love and joy as they have experienced over this past week.
Thankfully, Austin was on his best behavior while visiting and being held (in some instances) by people he hadn't met before, such as Brayden's grandmother.
We couldn't be happier for the Dunne family and hope the years to come continue to be filled with as much love and joy as they have experienced over this past week.
A fussy week
When postings begin to wane in a given week, there are usually a few possible explanations. I will allow you a moment to guess what the reason was this week:
Austin was pretty much an unhappy and fussy boy soon after eating his first breakfast (Tuesday) all the way through yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. Throughout the duration of his fussiness, he ran a low grade fever (Tuesday thru Friday) and could only really be comforted for minutes at a time, and usually in the arms of Mommy or Daddy. He only slept well every other night (coincidentally, only the nights that Mommy was on duty) and left his father very tired as a result.
We aren't sure why he was fussy and running a small temp...it could have been the shots. Then again, it could have been his teeth. In either instance, Tylenol usually gave him/us some relief from his unhappiness...but as you can imagine, the relief was fleeting.
The good news is that last night he seemed to come out of his funk and has had a really good day today as well!
- Keith is too busy (or tired)
- it has been a very boring week
- Austin has been miserable
- 1+2+3
- 1+2
- 1+3
- 2+3
Austin was pretty much an unhappy and fussy boy soon after eating his first breakfast (Tuesday) all the way through yesterday (Saturday) afternoon. Throughout the duration of his fussiness, he ran a low grade fever (Tuesday thru Friday) and could only really be comforted for minutes at a time, and usually in the arms of Mommy or Daddy. He only slept well every other night (coincidentally, only the nights that Mommy was on duty) and left his father very tired as a result.
We aren't sure why he was fussy and running a small temp...it could have been the shots. Then again, it could have been his teeth. In either instance, Tylenol usually gave him/us some relief from his unhappiness...but as you can imagine, the relief was fleeting.
The good news is that last night he seemed to come out of his funk and has had a really good day today as well!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Mmmmm....rice cereal
Alright, the stuff looks disgusting (think elementary school paste)...but the boy ate this morning like he had been doing it for weeks.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Uh oh, more shots!!
Austin went to the pediatrician for his 4 month check-up, which unfortunately for him, included the second round of inoculations (all the same things as round one).
He was very grumpy during and after the shots, which was to be expected. What was pleasant for us all, however, was how happy and content he was with the doctor until that fateful moment. He showed off all of his abilities including hands to midline, good head control with pull to sit, strong prone extension while pushing up from his hands, visual tracking....and lots and lots of smiles.
The "cliff-notes" of the visit are as follows:
- Height- 26.25 inches (90th percentile)
- Weight- 15 pounds, 8 ounces (75th percentile)
- Head Circumference- 37.5 cm (75th percentile)
- he is indeed teething...so more drooling, and green poo is too be expected (along with some fussiness)
- he is ready for foods (the high chair was set up this morning, will likely try foods tomorrow morning for the first time)
- we were advised to start with only 2 teaspoons of rice cereal (with a lot of breast milk) and to do so only in the morning, so he doesn't stay awake with digestive pains if it doesn't settle well to start...not that we are anticipating any problems.
- as he shows he can handle rice cereal we will then progress -> Barley -> Oatmeal -> Yellow Veggies -> Fruits -> Green Veggies (apparently you wait on those because they tend to be he most gassy)
'Tis it for now, we will post back in the next day or so once he gets his first meal with real (albeit incredibly runny, and watery) food.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Aunt Peggy and Uncle Kevin were in town!!!
At about 9:30 this morning, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Kevin came over to visit Keith and Austin (they were in town to celebrate a family birthday). Christine was not at home initially, because she is fighting a sore throat and went to go see a doctor at the urgent care office to see if she was a candidate for antibiotics.)
Austin seemed to enjoy their company (as the pictures help illustrate) and was in very good spirits throughout the morning...probably as a result of getting some good sleep the last night. Austin played with his Aunt and Uncle for about 1 hour prior to getting sleepy and going down for a nap.
After sleeping for about 2 hours (providing enough time for Christine to come home with the antibiotics that the doctor had indeed prescribed for her, as well as the time for everyone to eat and catch-up on each other's lives)...Austin woke up happily again (despite a very wet diaper, thus the change in outfit) and spent some more quality time with Kevin and Peggy before they needed to leave.
Hopefully they had as much fun as Austin did!
(Seeemingly Daily) Austin Sleep Update
Whew....Daddy was relieved that Austin was much better last night than the last evening that Daddy was on duty. Austin fell asleep at around 8:30 (old time, concerning daily light savings) and woke up at 3:oo am (new time) with a messy diaper. Keith changed him, and although he was noticeably tired, he refused to fall asleep for 45 minutes. This time spent awake was much more well received than the stubbornness from 2 nights ago; he was cuddly and quiet, not screaming and writhing around in Keith's arms. He slept for about an hour before feeding, but he went back down to rest in his bassinet until nearly 8:00 this morning.
Keith was therefore able to attain some productive sleep. All in all, it proved to be a very pleasant evening...we're hoping that things continue to progress in this regard, but the optimism is very reserved at this point.
Keith was therefore able to attain some productive sleep. All in all, it proved to be a very pleasant evening...we're hoping that things continue to progress in this regard, but the optimism is very reserved at this point.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
He loves Mommy more than Daddy...
No pics, no vids...just the knowledge that Austin is much kinder to his mother than he is his doting and always kind father. That's right, despite all the time spent bonding, the songs, the conversations, the unrelenting attention, and the unending love and affection provided from father to son: Austin decided that he was going to sleep through the night when Mommy was on "baby duty".
Admittedly, Daddy is jealous, but cautiously optimistic that this may be the beginning of a "return to form" for our little boy. Austin went to sleep at 8:00 pm, and woke at 5:00 am to eat...then he slept for another 2 hours and woke up for the day (not counting naps) around 7:00.
He has been much more like himself today as well...even feeding without frequent interruptions and fussing (as has been his pattern, up until today, for about 2 weeks)
Please join us in crossing our collective fingers in hopes that he gets to remain the well-rested and happy boy that we have come to know and love.
There will definitely be a new posting and some pictures tomorrow, so check in the evening to see what happened when Uncle Kevin and Aunt Peggy on Sunday morning.
Admittedly, Daddy is jealous, but cautiously optimistic that this may be the beginning of a "return to form" for our little boy. Austin went to sleep at 8:00 pm, and woke at 5:00 am to eat...then he slept for another 2 hours and woke up for the day (not counting naps) around 7:00.
He has been much more like himself today as well...even feeding without frequent interruptions and fussing (as has been his pattern, up until today, for about 2 weeks)
Please join us in crossing our collective fingers in hopes that he gets to remain the well-rested and happy boy that we have come to know and love.
There will definitely be a new posting and some pictures tomorrow, so check in the evening to see what happened when Uncle Kevin and Aunt Peggy on Sunday morning.
Friday, March 7, 2008
A good day, tough night
Any time there is a posting this early in the morning, you can rest assured that your author is not himself rested...as is the case this morning.
Austin had a wonderful, happy day yesterday...he woke at 6:30 in the am and had a video conference with Grandma Waldron. He was in a happy mood all day, and slept through both of his long naps uninterrupted (usually Mommy and Daddy are in and out of the room to give him his pacifier when he starts stirring). The prevailing thought was that we had turned a corner and we were hopeful that it would be a restful evening.
Nah....it turned out to be anything but restful. Austin was up every 15 minutes needing a pacifier to calm from 12:00am to 1:00. At 1:00, he woke up and refused to go back to sleep. Keith changed him and put him back down asleep by 1:30. The only problem is that for the next 2 hours, Austin would fall asleep in Daddy's arms only, but would refuse to sleep in the bassinet. He finally fell asleep (for the 5th time...this time for "good") at 3:30. Of course, "for good" was only for about an hour, as he woke up at 4:30, 5:00, and 5:30 to "drop a deuce" in his drawers. After waking at 5:30, he wouldn't fall back asleep, so he was fed and is now playing in his exersaucer and smiling at Daddy as if last night was a long night out for the boys or something.
(actual photo from 6:43 this morning)
Oh well....just another exciting installment of parenthood, I suppose.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Trying to make good on commitments...
...AND...
Tummy Time is no longer under Mommy and Daddy's control...
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
March Posting #1--with sincere apologies
Looking at the pane to the left, it is clear that there has been a precipitous drop in the number of postings on the blog over the last 4 months. Our month of March resolution is to reverse that trend and make at least a posting every other day or so...we'll see if we are as successful as we would hope. We realize that there are people in PA, MA, and NY that keep a close eye on this blog to stay up-to-date on Austin to see how much he is growing and all the fun things that he is up to. We appreciate and cherish all of the love and support we receive from those people who rely on the blog so heavily, and we are sorry for "dropping the ball" as of late.
One reason that we didn't post a lot (at all) last week was it was a tough week for the whole family. Christine and Austin each developed a stomach bug on Tuesday, Keith had it on Thursday.
Austin started urinating so heavily at night that he was leaking through his diapers. This woke him up at around 1am Monday and Tuesday night. Once he was awake, he was crying for about 45-60 minutes, and was inconsolable regardless of who was holding him or what they did to calm him. Couple the leakage "wake-ups" with the resultant fatigue and add the aforementioned stomach bug where he was sometimes having "movements" 4 times in 2 hours...well, we had a very unhappy little man (and therefore had very few opportunities for cute photo ops).
As the week progressed on, Austin had fewer and fewer movements, but even through this morning, things aren't quite back to where they were. He had only been having one "movement" per day (at his first morning feeding...now he has 5-6 per day, and the odor and consistency has changed as well. His mood is more consistently good, but he is a little more fussy than he was about 2 weeks ago. In a way, it is a bit of a regression back (in temperament) to where he was about a month ago.
So, this has us thinking: what has changed in the last 2 weeks? Mood and bowels. What has remained the same? Constantly chewing on his hands. What has increased? Drooling. These variables lead us to believe that our growing boy is starting the process of teething....ugh...even less sleep and an increasingly fussy boy likely lie ahead.
Now that Austin is on a new schedule in the evenings (down at 8pm, angry wake-up between 2-3am with a "poopy" diaper followed by 30 minutes of him letting us know how upset he was to wake up and find excrement in his diaper as if is our fault, wake up again between 5-6am for his morning feeding)...Christine and Keith have been forced to change their habits to make accommodations for Austin's. Bedtime for Mommy and Daddy is now 10:30. A daily rotation is now in place to help keep us refreshed at least every other day. Keith took the "Austin shift" Monday night, Christine took the "Austin shift" last night. Things were a lot easier when we were spoiled and he slept through the night...but we didn't expect that to last forever, either.
So...that is pretty much our week in a nutshell. Austin may be teething, is more fussy, and we have been neglectful in taking pictures when he is happy and haven't been as diligent as we would like to be regarding the blog updates. Yep...that sounds about right.
Thanks for your patience as we try to get back into the swing of things...we will be in touch again very shortly...or so we hope
One reason that we didn't post a lot (at all) last week was it was a tough week for the whole family. Christine and Austin each developed a stomach bug on Tuesday, Keith had it on Thursday.
Austin started urinating so heavily at night that he was leaking through his diapers. This woke him up at around 1am Monday and Tuesday night. Once he was awake, he was crying for about 45-60 minutes, and was inconsolable regardless of who was holding him or what they did to calm him. Couple the leakage "wake-ups" with the resultant fatigue and add the aforementioned stomach bug where he was sometimes having "movements" 4 times in 2 hours...well, we had a very unhappy little man (and therefore had very few opportunities for cute photo ops).
As the week progressed on, Austin had fewer and fewer movements, but even through this morning, things aren't quite back to where they were. He had only been having one "movement" per day (at his first morning feeding...now he has 5-6 per day, and the odor and consistency has changed as well. His mood is more consistently good, but he is a little more fussy than he was about 2 weeks ago. In a way, it is a bit of a regression back (in temperament) to where he was about a month ago.
So, this has us thinking: what has changed in the last 2 weeks? Mood and bowels. What has remained the same? Constantly chewing on his hands. What has increased? Drooling. These variables lead us to believe that our growing boy is starting the process of teething....ugh...even less sleep and an increasingly fussy boy likely lie ahead.
Now that Austin is on a new schedule in the evenings (down at 8pm, angry wake-up between 2-3am with a "poopy" diaper followed by 30 minutes of him letting us know how upset he was to wake up and find excrement in his diaper as if is our fault, wake up again between 5-6am for his morning feeding)...Christine and Keith have been forced to change their habits to make accommodations for Austin's. Bedtime for Mommy and Daddy is now 10:30. A daily rotation is now in place to help keep us refreshed at least every other day. Keith took the "Austin shift" Monday night, Christine took the "Austin shift" last night. Things were a lot easier when we were spoiled and he slept through the night...but we didn't expect that to last forever, either.
So...that is pretty much our week in a nutshell. Austin may be teething, is more fussy, and we have been neglectful in taking pictures when he is happy and haven't been as diligent as we would like to be regarding the blog updates. Yep...that sounds about right.
Thanks for your patience as we try to get back into the swing of things...we will be in touch again very shortly...or so we hope
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