2 month check-up

Gideon had his 2 month check-up yesterday! Here are the stats:
Weight: 12lbs 11.5oz (85th percentile)
Height: 24.2" (90th percentile)
Head circumference: 16.1" (75th percentile)

Last week Gideon had a diarrhea bug so I took him in to the pediatrician just to make sure we were doing everything right. When she saw his weight she said we should try and reduce how much he is eating daily. We tried that for a couple of feedings but gave up when he started to protest, loudly. Yesterday when she saw his length she said we shouldn't change a thing. She said he is proportionate and perfect and I have to agree. She also said that at this weight he can safely sleep 8 hour stretches and suggested we start cutting his 3am feeding with water. The 2 month shots were not fun. He cried so hard that no sound came out and he popped little blood vessels in his head. Afterwards there was a lot of snuggling with mommy and then he spent the day napping. Last night he hardly slept at all however, so mommy is operating on only a couple of hours sleep today. Poor Mac still has the flu bug we all got over last week and hasn't been able to do much around the house. Luckily he is starting to feel better, sadly he is going back to work today :( Even sick it was nice to have him around, but I am grateful he is getting well because he was sick of being sick.

Alright, I have bottles to wash...

Daddy is SO funny

Mac has always been able to make Gideon smile, they have such a neat bond. Earlier this evening Mac was laughing at something on TV and Gideon totally smiled when he heard it. That's pretty cool. Well just a few minutes ago I was getting a bottle ready and Mac was distracting Gideon with some daddy business because there is very little Mac won't do to make his boy smile. When the bottle was ready I decided to wait because Gideon was obviously enjoying himself and I have to admit I was getting a giggle out of it as well. Low and behold the little guy actually laughed!!! Now granted, the kid laughs in his sleep fairly frequently but this was the first time he actually found something funny enough to laugh and it was CUTE. Of course I grabbed the camera (which I keep handy) and was lucky enough to get his second laugh on film (is it really on film? this digital age is messing with my writing). So here it is for your viewing and listening pleasure. I have to admit we have watched a few times ourselves.

Baby Wise

So everyone has been raving about Baby Wise so I ordered the book and decided to give it a try. One of the reviewers on Amazon.com mentioned that it involves baby being on a flexible 3 hour feeding schedule and since Gideon has already been doing that for about a week I figured we would be ahead of the game. The book came in yesterday and I spent nap time reading it (a very quick read) and decided to implement the technique right away. Basically you keep baby on a 3 hour eat/play/sleep schedule, Gideon totally has the eating and playing part DOWN so after Gideons 3:30 bottle we played for a while on his mat and then I put him in his crib for a nap. Oh, that is the other thing, when you put baby down for a nap you do just that, put him down. Usually we rock Gideon until he is sound asleep and then transition him to the crib. This is time consuming. So at 5 o' clock I changed it up by putting Gideon in the crib and walking away. I listened to him through the monitor as he started to fuss, then whine and then cry in earnest. Around this time poor Mac came home; he said he had been missing Gideon all day and really wanted to hold him. Instead he had to listen to him cry through the monitor. Every 20 mins or so I would go upstairs and pat Gideon's back and try to console him some and then walk away as per the book. 6:30 rolled around and it was time for Gideon's next bottle and he still had not slept a second. He and I were very traumatized.

I truly believe that Gideon does not sleep as much as other babies. He just doesn't. Mac's dad says that Mac was the same way and I have heard from many others who have had the same experience. If there is one thing I have learned from having a baby it is that we should do what is right for our family and avoid drinking the Koolaid of one childrearing theory or another. So today I adapted Baby Wise and put Gideon down for a nap after every other feeding instead of trying to force a nap on him every three hours. The little guy fussed for maybe 5 mins before drifting off to sleep. Turns out he has no trouble going to sleep... when he is actually tired. So I guess I have come out of this experience a little wiser even if I am not Baby Wise.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Grandma and Grandpa Edwards came over last weekend and brought this fantastic outfit for Gideon to wear on St. Patty's Day! He wore it to Olive Garden for lunch with daddy and Grandma and Grandpa Mathis. It was nice to get out of the house in the middle of the day and visit Mac even if Gideon decided to be a little fussy in the restaurant. I think he just wanted daddy and grandma's attention. Who hasn't been there, right?

Spring Break is supposed to be relaxing but it has been stressful around the Edwards house. It all started last week when Mac's granddad passed away. Mac got up early Saturday morning and drove to Silverton for the funeral and came back Sunday afternoon. Gideon was up allllll night Friday night so Saturday morning Grandpa John came over and gave mommy a nap break. Grandpa and Grandma Adams came over Saturday afternoon with lunch and then Grandma and Grandpa Mathis AND Aunt Bethany came over Saturday night to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa Mathis's Birthdays. It was a looooong and full day, thank god my mom stayed the night to help me with Gideon. Gideon and Grandma are so cute together; he really likes all of her songs. Actually Gideon is cute with all of his grandparents, we are SOOOO lucky to have them all close by. Late Sunday night, the cold I had been nursing since Thursday turned into full blown Tonsillitis misery, so Monday morning I went to CareNow for anitbiotics and vicodin and spent the rest of the day and night in bed trying to keep my germs away from an already congested Gideon. Poor Mac took the night shift all by himself two nights in a row so thankfully by Wednesday night I was healthy enough to be a help. I think Gideon sensed out need for sleep because last night he slept 6 hours in a row! Mac said he woke up at 2am in a panic. (normally Gideon would have woken us at 10:00 and then 1:00). Fingers crossed that he keeps this up! (Mommy thinks it is because she is keeping to a strict every three hour feeding schedule, keeping the lights and TV on during the day, and not allowing naps over 3 hours long.)

Alright time to go wash some bottles!

I have been remiss!

Its true, I have been avoiding my blog. I was going through a tough time and didn't have very many positive things to say. Things are looking up so i thought I would give you all a quick update.

Gideon is doing well. After we switched him to the alimentum formula (for babies with protein sensitivity ($25 a can(!!!!))) he developed acid reflux (turns out breastmilk is a natural antacid). Now that he has been on baby Zantac for a few days he is much better but we had many looooong nights with

the poor baby crying after being fed because he was in pain. Totally broke mommy's heart. Yesterday (his 5 week anniversary) he started cooing and talking to mommy while we were playing on his mat in the living room. Its pretty cute and I am working on getting a video of it for daddy since he always seems to miss these things (having to work is lame!). Speaking of daddy, he is awesome! Everyday after work he lets me go on a little field trip, even if it is just to the grocery store or the gas station, just so I can get out of the house, listen to the radio, drive my car. It is really nice. Today I am getting a carwash and buying a rug at walmart. Gideon is wonderful and adorable and fantastic but there are moments when all that gets me through is the knowledge that soon daddy will be home.

Gideon is named after Mac's maternal grandfather Roy Mack (hence the Mack spelling and not Mac like daddy) and recently Roy Mack has been pretty sick so this past weekend we packed up the car with everything but the kitchen sink and drove the 6 hours to Amarillo to visit him in the hospital. Gideon slept most of the way, besides stops at a Carl's jr (lame) and a "safety rest stop" (awesome) along the way for a bottle and diaper change. Visiting with the family was nice and we are glad Gideon got to meet his great grandpa but I would not recommend long road trips with a 5 week old. Turns out, when a baby is lulled to sleep for hours during the day by the car, they stay up all night!

Last week Emily came over (btw Emily is awesome and amazing and I owe her several cokes and favors) and took Star Wars themed pics of Gideon and his buddy Flint. They are so cute! Here are a couple of my favs:

How cute is Mister Flint? Seriously that kid is great, I am so excited for when he and Gideon are really buddies and not just two kids sitting new to each other lol.

Okay I can hear Gideon waking up so I am going to go get a bottle going. Laters!