Mr. Bojangles

Yesterday was quite the day for B-Boy... My mom moved to a new place, and we were the lucky ones to move her! Fortunately, we were able to enlist the help of our dear friends TheMacFamily. We could not have done it without them, and frankly, we hope they will still be speaking to us today!

In the middle of the move, we made a stop to Bojangles for a late lunch. It was B-Boy's first trip to Bo's, and since TheMacFamily was who introduced us to this magical restaurant- it was appropriate that we went first with them! I realized it was the first trip for B-Boy, so I stopped to snap a photo.

Mmmmm... Bojangle's!

Earlier that morning, I had fun shooting some video of B-Boy for you folks... so many of you have said you want to see more of him- so I put the nifty HD video camera Neb bought to use. I hope the footage is not too boring for you... You will be amazed at just how much B-Boy has grown!



This brings us to today- we are all REALLY out of it. We are soooo tired! Neb and B-Boy decided to "watch" football together... i could not resist snapping this photo... too cute!

Um, Dad? Mom's got the camera out again...

Happy Turkey Day!

B-Boy wants to wish you a Happy Happy Thanksgiving! It's his first. He even dressed up for you to be sure you had a good one!

What do you think? I am thinking we have a new nickname... Mr. Turkey Tush! Ah, can't you just see the slide show at his wedding rehersal dinner?

Tiny Bubbles... Mastering a New Skill

I am constantly amazed at B-Boy's growth- everyday he gets bigger and we learn new ways to communicate with each other.

For example, when he shakes his head back and forth and curls his lip like Elvis (I have GOT to get a photo of that!), he has bad gas he is working to pass. Or, if you hear snorting piggy noises- he is really hungry!

I am also amazed when he learns something new. It wasn't too long ago that he learned that he could reach out to the stuffed animals hanging down from the mobile on his swing. Before that, it was just something he stared at.

Today, B-Boy officially mastered a new skill.... Blowing big bubbles! Ah- the little things. We had just finished feeding and were chillin' with each other... when he started blowing them. He had made small ones in the past, but these were pretty big... and then I read that it's actually a growth milestone! Good work B-Boy!

You know what sucks?

B-Boy! He has been going to a feeding specialist for a month now, and today we went again.

The appointment basically consists of getting an update on the last week of feeding and then B-Boy eating a 4 ounce bottle while the specialist(aka FoodLady) watches him eat. FoodLady then makes adjustments to how we feed him as needed.

For example, sometimes he gulps down his food. He's STAR-VING and if he DOESN'T GET FOOD NOW HE WILL SURELY PERISH!!!! Or at least, that's what he thinks. When he gulps his food, Neb and I are supposed to pace him. That means we let him suck twice, then drop the bottle down so the contents run to the end and he only gets air. This cues him that "Hey, this is a good time to relax and take a break.... and a breath.... ah...." and then he starts it up again. Suck- Suck- break, Suck-Suck- break....

Well, he MUST be doing better because instead of seeing FoodLady once a week, we don't go back for 2 weeks!!!! YAY!!!!

Which reminds me, I forgot to post about his swallow study...

Two weeks ago, FoodLady noticed something odd when he ate, so she had us schedule a Swallow Study at the hospital. The study basically is an X-ray recording of B-Boy eating. We gave him a bottle with Barium liquid in it while he was recorded eating it. Then he was given another bottle with thicker Barium liquid and was recorded with that.... and then back to the thinner Barium... The Barium shows up on the X-ray so FoodLady can see where the liquid goes.

The scary thing is that B-Boy is aspirating when he eats... Meaning that the liquid is going into his lungs. NOT GOOD... this can lead to serious infections. So we are thickening his milk with rice cereal to help prevent it. We think he is doing better- and I am guessing FoodLady does too since we don't go back for 2 weeks.

Wish you could see the swallow study? Sure you do... Don't worry, I thought you might... So I snapped this jazzy picture just for you... Doesn't B-boy have a cute spine? :)

Is that a UDO?

Is that an Unidentified Driving Object? No- that is Neb and his nifty Jogging stroller!

If you remember, I posted earlier about taking B-Boy for a walk and that Neb had rigged the stroller with lights... (Read more about that here.)

So we went for a walk again, and I made sure to take some pictures so you could see his ingenuity.

First, I snapped this photo of B-boy starting out...

We walked about 3.5 miles total, and around mile 2 the sun started to go down. I personally think this is Neb's favorite part of the walk- he just looks for an excuse to turn on his lights!

First, the headlights get turned on....

Then the taillights... which can be solid or one of several blinking patterns...

As you can see, Neb isn't taking any chances on safety... he even proudly wears a vest....which makes me want to ask him if I can cross the street! :)

B-Boy is a Big Boy!

I took B-Boy to the pediatrician today to get weighed.

When he was born, he weighed 8 pounds 11 ounces. A week later, he lost a full pound, weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces. He then started gaining weight and has been ever since, thankfully.Well, today his weight came in at....

Drum roll, please!

11 pounds and 12 ounces!

Holy cow! He's huge! No wonder my back hurts... but it's a good hurt, right? :)

Pictures Anyone?

Yesterday, I took B-boy to get his 6 week photo taken. We had to fight off folks getting their Christmas pictures captured. B-boy did a great job, he fussed a lot, but we still got some good shots. Several friends recommended JC Penney for getting kids photos done, so I decided to give it a try. JC Penney is having a great sale right now, and we got 50% off the entire order! Sweet!

The photographer, Stephanie, was really patient with him and got some great shots. I kept it simple, and dressed him in a red onesie, and fought the urge to do a Xmas photo... This was about his being 6 weeks old, not Christmas after all! She was nice enough to let me capture her taking a photo of him....

I took several blankets for him to lie on, including a beautiful white afghan my mother made. All the ladies at the studio drooled over the afghan- and it was the perfect accessory for B-boy. After she took a bunch of photos in his onesie, we stripped him down to his diaper for some skin shots. He proceeded to get fussier and fussier, and even the bottle I brought failed to calm him. Poor Guy!

Stephanie wanted to get some shots of him on his tummy, holding himself up- which he still does not enjoy nor has he mastered completely- so that failed miserably. I had suggested we let me hold him vertically and take the photo over my shoulder. She laughed at first, but then decided to try it. She covered me completely with the afghan, and I held him while she clicked away. Those photos came out particularly great... guess B-boy just wanted his Mamma!

The photos will be ready next week, and I was able to purchase a CD with all of them on it... I will share them with you as soon as I have them! Oh- and Neb doesn't know about this as I wanted it to be a surprise... so mum's the word! :)

Playing with PikiStrips

B-boy is sleeping soundly, so I thought I would play with creating some PikiStrips with his pictures...

For those of you who don't know what this is (I didn't until recently!), it is basically creating your own comic strip with your own photos. You can select the size, the number of boxes, and can even customize it with thought bubbles, KABAMs! and the like.

What do you think of mine?

Baby Fuzz

Aside from being cute and cuddly, have you noticed babies are fuzzy? Well, mine is at least!

B-boy was born with a full head of hair... so fine and fuzzy that he reminded me of a muppet!  I thought that his hair would fall out that first night, as my parents told me happened with me. But on Day 2, he still had a full head of hair! Same thing weeks later...

Well, it is finally starting to fall out. And it is not happening all at once, like I thought it would. It is starting at the front and gradually falling out towards the back! I didn't know where the hair was going until last night.

B-boy had his first bath in the baby bathtub last night. Prior to that, he was getting sponge baths because he hated being washed, and I was able to keep him warm by covering him with the towel when I was washing another area. The tub worked great, and he hardly cried at all. He really enjoyed the bath in the tub (until I washed his hair)!

Afterward, Neb took him to get dressed while I cleaned up the bath stuff. I started to empty the tub, and noticed the bottom had lots of tiny short hairs floating around! He still has lots of hair on his head, but at least the mystery of where the hairs are going is solved!

Now if we can just figure out who killed JFK, all will be known! :)

A New Milestone!

Yes, B-boy is now 6 weeks old, but that is not the milestone we are celebrating today!


Last night was the first night he slept in his crib!!!!

Up to now, he has slept mostly in his swing... sometimes in his bouncer seat... but he HATED his bassinet. We had originally thought he would sleep in his bassinet for 2 months in our room, but in reality, he slept in it MAYBE 4 times.

So last night we made the decision to try his room. Neb took the 9pm to midnight shift so that I could get some sleep, and B-boy slept in his swing in the living room. We traded out at midnight, and I pumped until 1am and then slept on the couch. Thank goodness it is comfy! At 2:30am, he woke up ready to eat... So at 3am, we put him in his crib, turned on his rainforest mobile, and quietly backed out of the room.

And he slept!!!! At 6am, we woke to his crying... right on schedule. We both got up- Neb changed him and I then fed him while Neb laid on the floor with Mango. Back to the crib he went... and we RAN to our bed hopeful he might sleep. After a bit of serious crying, Neb decided we should bring out our comfort Secret Weapon- the hair dryer. It did the trick, B-boy then slept until 9am!

It also gave us an excuse to use the cool video baby monitor that Neb purchased... He hung 2 of the cameras above B-boy's crib- we still don't know where the third one will go. The night vision on it was really cool! Here is a shot of B-boy this morning...




We have decided he was being nice to us in honor of GatorGirl's birthday... Happy Birthday GatorGirl!

Let's hope he is nice to us again tonight!

Another Fussy Day

Bboy will be 6 weeks old tomorrow... I am amazed at how quickly he is growing!

Today was a tough day. He is still having feeding issues, and I think he hit his 6 week growth spurt! He was fussy yesterday afternoon into the night... and it carried into today. Sigh, we are really tired, and looking forward to this fussy period to end.

On a positive note, the rain that has been with us for the past few days is gone, and today was sunny and warm. We took Bboy for a long walk this afternoon- I swear it was the first time today he didn't fuss! He started out alert and looking around, and by the end, was fast asleep. So cute!!!! The walk lasted about 3.5 miles... and Neb was excited to show off his lights. (He has rigged the jogging stroller with brake lights and headlights... will need to post a photo of this soon.)

Bboy slept once we got home, and then woke SCREAMING to be fed. Neb obliged him with 6 ounces!!!! (He had previously been eating 4 ounces at a time...) Now he is sleeping soundly in his swing. He looks so adorable when he sleeps... ah, the sweet sound of quiet.