HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Check out Josh's amazing smile in his costume. That is the first time that we have captured his smile in a picture. It is actually the first time that we have seen him smile as a regular occurance.

Pacifiers

When I was pregnant, we said that we were not going to use pacifiers/binkys. It was more Keith than me who was against it. I was more indifferent. Keith didn't use one when he was a child, (neither did I), so our son was not going to use a pacifier either. Enter Joshua into the world. At about 4 weeks when Joshua was fussy no matter what we did, we caved. The pacifier soothed him. It quieted Josh down and made him happy again. They say that giving a pacifier to a baby during naps and at bed (in addition to sleeping on his back) helps to reduce SIDS. With that in mind, we felt a pacifier at this young age is the right thing to do for now. As he gets a little older (4-5 months), we will take the pacifier away when he starts teething and help Josh to self sooth in other ways. For now, the pacifier, binky, mute button, or whatever you want to call it is exactly what Josh needs/wants. Besides, having a device to instantly calm Josh has been extremely helpful in making some shopping and restaurant experiences more enjoyable for all.

Sleeping Through the Night

He did it! He did it! He did it! Josh slept from midnight to 5am. Josh slept through the night. Yeah!!! The funny thing is that I woke up at 4am. I guess my body is so used to waking up in the middle of the night that when I didn't hear cries from Josh, I woke up anyway automatically. Hopefully, this is the start of him truly sleeping through the night. We don't know at this point if it was a one time thing for now or if he is going to start sleeping through the night. We will see what happens in the next few days/week and keep you posted.

Bath Time

We had to wait almost a month to give Josh a bath in his bath tub. Due to his lingering umbilical cord stump, we had to give him sponge baths for so long. We were not sure how he was going to like the bath. He didn't really like sponge baths and he is usually squirmy and fussy during diaper changes, that we believe he does not like being "exposed". I guess our son is a little modest so to go full nudity for a bath, we had no idea what to expect. It turns out that he doesn't seem to mind the bath. However, Keith minded giving Josh a bath a little bit when Josh pooped on him, but besides that, bath time will probably be a nice bonding time for the 3 of us. Above are some bath time pictures. Joshua has started to grab things, so you can see him holding on to his wash cloth. Notice the strategically placed wash cloth. How many of us have been embarrased by our bath pictures, because our parents thought it was cute to expose our genitals? Josh can be proud to show his high school girlfriend these pics, because he looks so darn cute. :)

5 Weeks Today

I can't believe Joshua is 5 weeks today. He keeps growing and changing everyday. Joshua is getting big. (Although, he is still a little peanut at a bit under 8 lbs). Keith and I are loving every minute of parenthood. Even though, he wakes me up in the middle of the night - every night - it is worth it. Joshua is still feeding every 2 - 4 hours around the clock. Sometimes, I get a little longer stretch in the middle of the night, but not usually more than 4 hours. Josh and I had developed a nice morning routine where I would feed him at around 7-730ish and then we would go back to sleep until about 10-1030am. For the past 2 days, he has been wide awake after his 7am feeding, so I think my "sleeping in" is over. It seems that Joshua is starting to be awake more often. He finally fits in his bouncer chair. So, this morning I put him in his chair, and he sat still for 20 minutes while I took a shower. (Getting to take a shower with a newborn is a real luxury). Joshua just loves looking at himself in the mirror. I have also noticed that he is starting to grab at things. I also think that yesterday I saw a smile. I mean a real smile and not just gas. :) I look forward to seeing how Joshua continues to change each day. He is amazing. Well, gotta go. It is tummy time.

One Month Today

I can't believe it has been a whole month since Josh has been born. Happy Birthday Joshua! Time has flown, and my little boy is getting so big. He is now 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/2 inches. In 2 weeks, he has gained 1 lb 3 oz. My boy likes to eat. He went to the doctor, and they said it is time to start tummy time. Josh is so wiggly and is always moving his head that I don't think this will be too bad for him. For the most part, Joshua is still feeding on his own schedule every 2-4 hours. At night, Joshua's feeding schedule is at 10pm (sometimes 11pm) and then sometmay not wake up until 4am. (5 hours). According to the medical definition, that is sleeping through the night - 5 hours. I am not sure who considers waking up at 4am as sleeping through the night. Certainly not me. 4am nursing is still what I call my comatose feeding. Today, Josh rolled over for the first time from his stomach to his back. That was very exciting. Josh is starting to look bigger to me. He is finally fitting into his newborn clothes and in another 2 weeks or so, he will probably have graduated to 0-3 months clothes. Joshua is so beautiful. (He really is. I am not just saying that as the Mommy). It is still sureal when I hold him and think to myself, "This is my child". I can't get enough of him. He is so precious.

Stubborn Little One

No, I am not talking about Joshua. (Although, if he takes after Mommy, he could be a little stubborn at times). I am talking about Josh's umbiical cord stump. They say that it usually falls off by around 2 weeks. Well, 2 weeks came and went, and it was not budging. 3 weeks came and it was still hanging on. I thought it was never going to fall off, and he was doomed to walking around as an adult with an odd belly button. Well, at 4am, after my comatose feeding with Joshua, I went to change him. I noticed that the stump was missing. Hmmm.... I was ecstatic that it finally fell off. (3 1/2 weeks. Hopefully, he is not so much a late bloomer in other areas). The odd thing was that it was no where to be found. At 4am and half asleep, I really didn't want to be looking for this thing. It turned out that the stump was hiding in his dirty diaper that I just changed. Go figure... Finally, now Joshua can look oh so cute in the many onesies he has but hasn't been able to wear while the umbilical cord was still intact. Keith wants to keep it and put it in Josh's memory book. Uh, I am not so sure. We shall see.

3 Weeks Old

Today, Joshua is 3 weeks old. Time is flying by. Before I know it, he is going to be leaving for college. Keith and I were talking about how we like him little like this. Yet, we also want him to get a little bigger so we can take him out and show him the rest of the world besides his bassinet and Pack N Play. (Joshua is still so little that Newborn size clothes are still big on him. His umbilical cord stump also has not fallen off yet, so we haven't really put him in onesies. It is being really stubborn and just hanging on there. Each day it looks like it is going to fall off, and then one more day it is still there).

Joshua is still spending most of his time sleeping and eating. Those times awake though are so precious. He just looks at you with these big blue eyes and it is amazing. I thought I might have seen a smile this morning, but I still think it might have been gas. ha ha ha. Keith says the cutest face Josh makes is when he puckers his lips in an "O" shape. As cute as the face is, Keith has determined that the face is what he makes when he is pooping. He gets really quiet and makes a face as if to say, "Guess what I am doing right now".