Friday, December 18, 2009

a couple of great days

First of all, because I know you're dying to know, things are moving again here at our house Although I don't want to do it often, the one time we had to use the Karo Syrup, it worked. Hooray!

We've had a great couple of days, although we did have a seven ounce weight loss from last week to yesterday. That's the most ever, but I'm trying not to freak out about it. I knew it would be bad considering the amount Jonah has gushed up this week and his dislike of his new formula. Here he is hanging out on the scale. He was having a blast. You couldn't have told him anything was wrong. This was mid-arm flap. 19 lbs. 7 oz. (We subtract a pound for shirt, diaper, and bandages.)


He's only taken 21 or 22 ounces the last couple days, but today he took 27! And that's only taking one ounce overnight. He wasn't happy about taking that one ounce either. He seems to be wanting to phase out the night feeding. That's fine with me, but if he's going to do that, I also want him to phase out the night awakening. Hopefully we are back on the way up! I plan on trying solids again tomorrow after a two month hiatus. I would appreciate any prayers you want to toss up for that. As we approach a year, I feel more and more pressure for him to eat solids and like it. I'm sure he'll be on some form of formula or liquid nutrition well past a year old, but at some point, oral liquid feedings just won't be enough anymore.

So why has it been a great last couple of days? Yesterday was Matt's birthday (we're exactly seven days apart, born in the same hospital), and Jonah cooperated and let us go visit him at work. We left the house at 11:30, visited the office for a bit, and then I went in a vacant, dark office, got him to sleep and fed him. Although it was a struggle to get him asleep and started, he did eat over five ounces, so I felt pretty good about that. Anyway, long story short he stayed asleep during the transition from office to outside in the cold to car seat, slept while we drove to the restaurant, woke up when we put him in the stroller, and hung out in the stroller AS HAPPY AS CAN BE for over an hour while we got to have leisurely birthday lunch with Daddy and his office mates at O'Charleys (a SIT DOWN restaurant... very big deal).


Then he went to bed last night around 8:30 and did not wake up until just a little after midnight. That is awesome considering he's been waking up four to five times between 8:30 and midnight here lately. Matt and I were able to sit down, RELAX, and watch a movie. He was only up for about twenty minutes and then slept straight through until 7 am. I'd say Baby J gave his Dad some pretty good birthday gifts. And then he ate 27 ounces today! Woohoo!

Today we were able to get dressing change out of the way first thing (Thanks, Aimee!), and we got to make a trip to Target. When we came out, it was snowing. Jonah wasn't a huge fan of the wet stuff flying in his face, and being the good mother I am, I made him sit out in it for a few minutes long enough for me to get out my phone and take a five second video of his first time in the snow while he whined at the injustice of it all I immediately took him out of the stroller and quickly got him hooked into his car seat in the toasty warm car.

When Matt got home he had a package from our PO box that included an incredibly sweet letter, bath and pedicure goodies for me, and a Fisher Price Love to Play Puppy. Thank you so much, Kendra and Melanie. He loves it! He sat up on his own for a long time and played with it. Matt sat behind him and just caught him as he fell over, but he did great! As long as he stays still, he can stay up for a good while, but the problem is he's really into this bouncing stage, so he gets overly excited and starts toppling over. He's just the cutest.

See?



I'm a little bit in love.


And finally, here was the view from our back deck this afternoon. This was soon after the snow started. We have A LOT more now.

I've heard a lot of different things, but it seems we will get anywhere from six to ten inches. That is a VERY big deal for us. It's so great. All the kids in the neighborhood got off the bus screaming in delight today and were out in their yards nailing each other with snow balls within a half hour. Man, a two hour early dismissal and LOTS of snow on the last day before a two week Christmas break... I can't think of anything much better than that. I was pumped for them. And now a kid and his dad are night sledding out in the middle of the street. It's so great. It actually makes me feel sort of giddy just watching them play in the snow. I can't wait til Jonah is old enough to do all those things. I hope to at least get some pictures of us holding Jonah in the snow tomorrow, but it's pretty cold and wet out there, and well, it's just pretty cozy in here. :)

Okay, that's it for me tonight. I hope those of you who are getting snow who don't usually are enjoying it. But I also hope that it clears up soon so those of you who are traveling can still hit the road. We're hanging around here for the holidays, and our families are coming to us. I'm pretty excited about doing Jonah's first Christmas here and especially happy about not having to pack bandage supplies. That's a pretty rockin' gift in and of itself.

24 comments:

Heather said...

Wow, does he look like he's grown up! He is so cute! So glad he's eating better and that things are moving : ) Yes, sit-down restaurants are a HUGE deal. Will keep praying for him to eat, eat, eat!

McCullough Family said...

Love the pictures of him playing with the puppy - not to be a copycat but he is so cute!

Kayte said...

So glad to hear about the 'Great Days'!! Btw, we have the same puppy...Good Luck! ;) (there is NO off switch!)

vanettens said...

So glad to hear about the great days and birthdays. Looking at the new pics of your adorable baby boy, is his hair getting longer or is it just me?? He's starting to head into the "little boy" look and out of the "baby" look!!!But doing it very cutely (is that a word?)

Laura A said...

What an awesome couple of days, Patrice! He looks wonderful! We have that puppy, and my little ones love it. The only problem is that if you don't turn it off, then it sometimes starts randomly talking/singing. A little creepy. BTW, on our puppy, the off switch is hidden behind the velcro on his back - next to the battery compartment.

Anyway, enjoy your white weekend - I'm envious! We got an early (for TX) dusting a couple of weeks ago but it was gone almost as soon as it came!

Continuing to pray!
Love,
Laura

kg said...

He is so adorable---thanks for new pictures!
I'm wondering if there might be a connection between the constipation and the gushers?
?the "back up" causes him to feel full and puts pressure on his tummy leading to gushing?
At any rate, so glad that's past and he's doing better with the eating/retaining bit!
Have a wonderful snowy weekend!

Robin said...

Thanks so much for the Jonah treat! There aren't enough adjectives to describe how cute he is. I showed my daughter the picture of Jonah with the paci in his mouth and she took my laptop and started scrolling through many of your past posts and pictures of Jonah. She is totally in love now too :)
I wanted to recommend Earth's Best baby food, if you haven't tried it. All natural, no pesticides, hormones, etc. I fed it to my daughter 21 years ago and when they had the big Alar scare with apples in baby food I didn't have to worry about her food. The fruits and veggies are so fresh-tasting. I checked this web site and noticed they also make a soy formula. I guess it says something for the quality of their products that they are still around and have expanded their product line.
http://www.diapers.com/Product/Category.aspx?CategoryId=5&CategoryName=Formula+%26+Baby+Food&QueryFrom=CATEGORY&FilterName=Brand&FilterValue=Earth%27s+Best&cm_mmc=Google-_-Baby+Food-_-Earth%27s+Best-_-earth%27s+best+baby+food-4832415461%7C-%7C1000000000000005

If you are interested I would love to send Jonah a sampling of their foods for Christmas. Please let me know.

Jonah looks WONDERFUL and you and Matt should take the credit as you are great loving, caring and attentive parents! Your instincts are so right on with Jonah.
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas filled with blessings and joy!

Robin in TX

Anonymous said...

Yay, Jonah! It's great that he was such a cooperative little man for Matt's birthday. I'm sure it's wonderful to be able to do "normal" things without having to be stressed out. I'm praying for lots more normal days for you all. And of course the pictures are adorable. His face looks great! Enjoy the snow. We live in WI so snow doesn't excite me too much anymore, but it's always fun to hear about people who don't get it often having fun in it!

~Amy

Tara said...

I hope you and all your Carolinian neigbors enjoy your snow! We got as far as Greenville, SC from Atlanta on our way to Jersey for the holidays before we had to give up and come back home.

Just wanted to say hello :) I read often, but never comment. It's great to hear Jonah's had a good few days!!

-Tara
www.hotalenfamily.blogspot.com

Tricia said...

Glad to hear you have had a few good days. I will keep praying. Enjoy the snow! :)

Unknown said...

lovin jonah's hair and cute faces...i love that kid..but not a quarter as much as ya'll do!! hope ya'll get some good pics of jonut in the snow....much love and blessings from a cold, wet, rainy ga~erin

Jessi said...

Yay! SO glad y'all have had some good days. I'm so jealous of the snow! Nothing but rain here in TN. :(

Stacy K. said...

What a great birthday for Matt! Some advice on solids now, I would skip the puree stuff. Lots of babies hate it. When Layla was 10mo old we started giving her beans for extra fiber and protein and she loved them( still does at 2 actually). I would give the avocado another try too, just maybe leave it chunkier for him if it won't cause huge swallowing issues.
Blessings to your family and enjoy your snow. (We don't have any here in OR)`

Wanda Wilkinson said...

Glad to hear things are moving along & to know that he is eating better. Maybe the gushers & not eating was due to a stomach virus--speaking from personal experience this week..anyway happy things are better.

Those picture are adorable (of course all of them of Jonah are great). He is looking so growny..growing out of the baby stage into a little boy. Happy & sad at the same time, they grow so fast.

Enjoy the snow--we have about 2 inches here in Durham, my dgt in Boone (Deep Gap really) is reporting about 15 inches

Like you said it could not get much better for the kids in school, getting out early with snow on the ground & a 2 week vacation.

Happy belated b'day to Matt & so happy all of you got to go out & enjoy..I love some O'Charleys, of course there is not one in Durham

Hoping you can get some great pictures of Jonah & the snow..the picture from your deck looks so peaceful.

Love & prayers

Wanda

Erin said...

Oh, I love the pic of him looking at his new toy, he is just precious! He is just getting so darn big so fast! What a little doll he is!

jess said...

Wow, he is starting to look so much like a little boy!! Where is his babyness going???

I thought of you the other day at my local pharmacy, someone was buying a high calorie formula add-in for her premie. It was made by one of the big formula companies, not sure if you have tried this (I bet you have), but just thought I would mention it.

Lisa T said...

Love the sitting!!! Way to go Jonah! I will be looking for the food report!!! Merry Christmas Williams Family.

Melanie said...

So happy that Jonah is doing better!!!! And I'm glad that he likes his puppy! The new pictures are fabulous! We got 12 inches of snow at our house, made for an interesting trip getting home from work, but of course the kids are loving it.

Anonymous said...

I live right above you in Eden, NC. We got about 6 inches here and your right, it is a very rare thing. Loving it! Jonah looks so cute and love the puppy.

Kendra said...

Glad Jonah is doing better and glad that he likes his puppy! We got about 8 inches of snow here. It's been forever since that's happened and we are loving it.

SandraDee said...

Hi Patrice! So sorry Jonah has had gushers and isn't eating well. I'll continue to pray.
LOVIN' THE PICTURES!! He is SO ADORABLE! And, he's getting so big. What a precious gift from our God.

Can't wait to see a few snow pictures!

Love & Prayers,
Sandy Moore

Brandie said...

Yay for great days, and how about that sleep?! sweet!
Good work Jonah, you'll be sitting up on your own in no time! (I used a boppy to assist my son, even when he got more stable just so I knew he wouldn't hit too hard when he decided to fall over)
Enjoy your mani pedi Patrice!! oh yea, and the snow! sounds like your neighborhood is full of fun :)

Kelly said...

Hello, I have followed your blog for a awhile form Kelly's Korner.
Anyway my little 4 month old has huge food allergies as well as horrendous reflux that has caused a feeding aversion. I have to rock her to sleep to get her to eat too and her intake per day is lousy.
But I wanted to tell you a couple of things have helped. We feed her an elemental formula called ELECARE VAnilla...no soy or milk or lactose. It is expensive ( many insurances will cover it) but it tastes good and and it is easy to digest so she keeps more down. We also thicken her feeds to nectar consistency with simply thick and that helps so much with the spewing! We use a Dr Brown's bottle with a size 3 nipple and it comes through fine! We also have to concentrate her formula to 24-26 calories per ounce becuase of her small intake but she is gaining. I would be happy to talk to you about any of this. We work with a dietician and speech therapist for her eating aversions. God Bless!

Baby Bird said...

Your welcome, my sweet Patrice! Kiss that baby Jonut for me!
Merry Christmas Williams fam! Love you all!