2 Months and Still Little

Ryker had his 2 month appointment (a couple days early) and he is still little, in the 10 percentile on height, weight, and head size. He now weighs 9 pounds 10 ounces, is 21 inches long, and his head is 36.6 cm. He is however very strong for his age. He can already hold his head up, roll over, stand up while I'm holding him (which sometimes makes it difficult to dress him because he won't bend his legs), and hold himself up during tummy time. My favorite thing about him being 2 months old is that he is now smiling all the time. I just love me some baby smiles! Only problem is that I have yet to catch them on camera. Anyway, here are a few pics from this week.


Strong Boy during tummy time


Wide awake in mommy's favorite outfit


Cute boy taking his nap



Ryker and Grandma Dalton

Best Baby Invention Ever! All Mother's With Babies Should Have!

So, I swear no one is paying me to write this blog, but I have to do it. It's too valuable for mothers with babies or who are soon to have babies.

A few days ago my lovely friend Heather Canterbury posted on her facebook page about a great baby carrier called the Sleepy Wrap. I've tried a Baby Bojor, didn't really like it. I tried a sling, again, not so much. My little baby Ryker is a cuddler and he likes to be held all the time. I would love to hold him all day, but I need to do things, like eat, vacuum, do laundry, do dishes, etc. All of these things are difficult to do while holding a baby.

On top of all of that, Ryker has been sick, therefor he has been excessively fussy. Like along the lines of colic fussy. He literally has times where he cries for hours without end, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to console him. Yesterday was one of those days. He pretty much cried all day, with a few 10 minute breaks. Needless to say it was an incredibly hard day and I cursed all sick people in the world for the possibility of getting my baby sick. I didn't discriminate amongst sick people, I cursed them all because it could be possible that somehow they contributed to my baby's sickness or that someday in the future they may contribute to getting him sick. Yes I know, I'm crazy. But you try holding a screaming baby for 8 hours and see how sane you are.

Anyway, at 5pm I got an email from UPS saying that they delivered my Sleepy Wrap to the front porch. I ran upstairs, handed Ryker off to his Aunt Maria, and ripped open the box. I then read the instructions to try and figure out how to put the thing on. It was a little difficult, but that was probably because my brain was fried. After I got it on right, I put a crying Ryker into my Sleepy Wrap. Within one minute he completely stopped crying. Within two minutes he was out like a light! He remained asleep for the next two hours, waking up only to eat. In that feeding he ate 3 ounces! That was a miracle in itself since all day he wouldn't eat much, maybe only an ounce at a time.

Once he finished eating, got burped, and then got a clean diaper, it was right back into the Sleep Wrap. He immediately fell right back asleep. He slept there for another hour while I cleaned up and got ready for bed. Then I took him out and put him in his bed where he slept for another three hours! When he woke up a 1am for another feeding he ate about 2 and a half ounces, but then he started with the screaming again. I tried calming him and nothing was working so I put him back in the Sleepy Wrap and he fell asleep again within 5 minutes.

When Ryker got up this morning he was actually pretty happy, even smiling at me a few times. After about 15 minutes he started getting fussy, so I put him back in the Sleepy Wrap and he settled right down. This time he just looked around and enjoyed the scenery for 15-20 minutes before falling asleep. He is currently in his Sleepy Wrap while I type this blog.

If I haven't convinced you yet that you need a Sleepy Wrap, then you must have a baby that is never fussy. Even if your baby is never fussy, this is the best baby carrier I've tried. He's so close/tight to me that I can do stuff without him getting in the way. All the while he's happy as a clam in his shell. So, if you don't already have one of these, you should get one! It's the best $40 you'll spend! Here's the link: http://www.sleepywrap.com/

Sick Baby

Poor little Ryker got sick last Monday with a sore throat that turned into an ear infection and a sinus infection. I've been so worried about him, since being sick at 6 weeks old can be dangerous. It's been a rough week because he has barely eaten and has been very cranky. On Monday night he decided that he would no longer nurse. This was probably because he couldn't breath and his throat hurt. I switched him to a bottle with pumped milk and he did only slightly better, eating an ounce to an ounce and a half at a time before screaming. For some reason night time seemed to be the hardest for him, spending hours at a time crying (which means I ended up crying with him).

The good news, however, is that as of last night Ryker's doctor allowed us to give him baby Tylenol and he finally ate more than one ounce, eating three whole ounces! Then afterward he slept for four hours straight and then woke up and ate another three ounces. His doctor wanted him to come back again this morning because he hadn't gained any weight in a week, actually losing an ounce and a half, but he was doing better today. His throat and ears are still red, but at least his stuffy nose isn't so bad and he seems like a happier baby, even smiling at me a couple times this morning and no major crying fits.

So, thank heavens Ryker is doing better, but I am still keeping him home for another month and a half before I let him near other people (he actually got sick at home from his 80 something year old great grandma, so it's possible to get sick even from home when sick people come too close). Hopefully he gets back to 100% soon and can start gaining weight again. I'm hopeful that'll happen very soon and he won't get near any other sick people!

Super Baby!

So Ryker has a super power, super strength! He's always been a pretty strong baby, but now he's already surpassed some development milestones, and he's only 6 and a half weeks!

First, he stands up! I was changing his clothes the other day and I tried to sit him up to put a onsie on and he pushed his legs out straight and stood instead of sat. Then I tried to get him to bend his legs and sit, while saying "sit, sit" and instead of Ryker sitting, the dogs standing nearby sat and then looked at me expectantly waiting for a treat or something. It was pretty funny. Anyway, he has stood up multiple times since then. Come to think of it, about every time I try changing his onsies.

Second, he tries to pull himself up. It's pretty common when he's laying down for him to grab onto mine or Adam's fingers and pull himself almost completely up.

And finally, the one he did this morning, he rolled over! Now I know what you're thinking, "oh that was probably an accident," but no folks, this was deliberate. He was on his blanket doing tummy time when he pushed himself up then rolled over onto his back. So, I picked him up and put him back in the middle of the blanket on his tummy, and he did it again. When I picked him up and put him back the third time he got mad at me. I'm sure he was thinking, "Come on Mom, can't you see I want to be on my back!" Anyway, earlier this week he rolled from his back to his tummy a few times. Also earlier this week he had a doctor appointment (poor kid got sick with a sore throat that turned into an ear and sinus infection) and his doctor put him on his tummy and he pushed himself right up. The doctor was impressed and said, "Wow, he's strong. What is he going to do, start doing pushups or something?"

So yes folks, pretty soon I'll be asking Ryker instead of Adam to open jars for me. That's just how it is when you have a super strong baby! :)

Gratitude

In the last few weeks since Ryker was born, I have been overwhelmed with my feeling of gratitude. I have truly been blessed and have sooo much to be grateful for, and I really just needed to write it down somewhere. So here are the things I've been thinking about lately.

1. I'm grateful for my wonderful husband. I just finished reading a novel where the two main characters "were in love" and I have to say, they don't know what love is. Love is a verb, and one that Adam has figured out. You know it's love when he holds the bucket for you to puke in, stays up for two days straight with you to offer support, takes his one night a week to sleep in and trades it for baby duty so I can sleep, puts up with my emotional mood swings so well that we're laughing about them a few minutes later, says sorry even when he knows he did nothing wrong but it will make me feel better and we can go back to normal and laugh at it later, is willing to come home after a 14 hour day and do dishes and laundry without complaint just because I didn't have energy to do anything all day, and sooo much more. Seriously, if all love is was what was described in a novel, staring at each other longingly and all that jazz, then this would be a sad world.

2. I'm grateful for my family. First, Adam and my beautiful baby boy. I love my baby more than words, but being a mom is one of the hardest things I've ever done, although it's also one of the most wonderful things I've ever done. Second, my extended family, both my side and Adam's side. It's great to have such supportive and fun people in my life.

3. I am super grateful we live in the basement apartment at Adam's parent's house! This has been the hugest blessing, especially since having the baby. Since Adam is currently in school full time and working full time, that means he's not home very often, which means I'm on my own a lot with the baby. I love my baby, but sometimes I need a break, even if just for an hour so I can run to the grocery store without exposing my newborn to germs, or so I can take a shower without having to jump out a few minutes into it because the baby started screaming. Having someone right upstairs to help with the baby at a moment's notice, like the other night when Ryker needed a priesthood blessing at 1:00am after screaming for hours non-stop, it's just such a huge blessing!

4. I'm grateful that my parents live just ten minutes away. The day after I had Ryker, my mom came and stayed with me in the hospital all day while Adam went to go take care of things we had left undone (we weren't prepared to have Ryker 3 and a half weeks early, so there was much to do). My parents have also been able to help bring make me meals, bring me groceries, and just be around to get to know my baby. It's also nice to be able to just hang out with them when I'm bored because Adam is gone a lot. I'm so glad to have them close by!

5. How can I not be grateful for such terrific friends. People that brought me meals after Ryker was born, who were worried about me from multiple states away and did everything they could to help me from a distance, people who have just cared and offered support through emails, phone calls, and blog comments, and even just people who gave me moral support when I felt like I was failing (breastfeeding has not been easy for me). It's great to know I have friends that are there for me for the fun stuff and the hard stuff.

6. I am so grateful for the love of my Heavenly Father that I have felt so often since the end of my pregnancy. From being put on bedrest to dealing with a fussy baby, I know my Heavenly Father is there for me and my family.

These are just a few things I have to be grateful for, but these are the ones that have been on my mind the most in the last few days. Thanks for reading! :)

More Ryker Pics & Family Pics

Here are two pictures of Ryker and his cousin Chloe who was born on the same day. Ryker was born at 2:09am and Chloe was born at 11:50pm. Look how much bigger Chloe is!





Here are a few cute pictures my sister in law took.



Ryker likes to hold Daddy's hand



Daddy likes to mimic Ryker.


Look, it's Karate Baby!


And, it Super Baby ready for take off!




And after a long day, it's family Nap time!