Little Bear Cub

Oops I'm a little behind... need to rewind. The past weekend was a fun but busy one!

Saturday I had chorus coaching all day, so Dargan and Scott spent the day together. They ran errands, did some trail work with the local mountain bike club, and then went to a gathering of the local Gator club to watch the UF/Tennessee game. Dargan wore his Gator jersey and Scott is now convinced that he's good luck because the Gators won!

Go Gators!

Dargan slept well again Saturday night and woke up in a happy mood.

Grinning in my elephant footie jams

Funny faces!

Sunday was an excellent fun day - Scott and I got to go mountain biking at DuPont! We headed up there with Dale and Robin pretty early in the morning. Scott took them on a loop while D & I hung out in the picnic shelter.

Smiley :)

Little bear cub!

Mom & baby selfies

It was pretty rainy and drizzly, but not cold - turned out to be great for biking, and the trails weren't even that muddy! After they returned, Robin and Dale watched D while Scott and I took a loop - great fun! Felt like the "old days" ;) Dargan was well-behaved for his babysitters, and was very intrigued by the trees on the short walk back up the trail to the cars.

After the ride, Scott, D, and I went to Oskar Blues Brewery to have lunch, buy a new keg, and of course enjoy some tasty beverages. Dargan wasn't all that impressed, but he at least was calm.

Sunday night he didn't sleep all that great, and Mondays are always hectic. Tuesday I felt crummy at work so I stayed home on Wednesday. Worst part was I couldn't take any decongestants because they dry up milk supply! Thankfully after a good number of naps I felt better by Wednesday afternoon, and Dargan slept well on Wednesday night. We actually had a great evening - calm, happy, playful, and went to bed decently well. I started "bedtime" around 7:45 after he and I ate our dinners together (spaghetti for me, rice cereal for Dargan) and he was in his crib by 8:45. He slept for a little over an hour, woke up and ate some more, then was down until 2:30. Woke up, ate, back down until I heard him talking/singing to himself around 5:15am. Hoping we'll get back to the solid nights of sleep soon!

"Aren't my baby jeans the CUTEST?"

Bouncing, Sleeping, and Eating

We've had a pretty good week so far, especially since we slept through the night the past TWO nights in a row!

Tuesday morning we had an example of why we've now installed mesh crib bumpers:

Feet through the bars!

Such a sweet sleepy boy.

When we picked him up from daycare on Tuesday night, we both noted that he looked a little pale and his eyes were red around the edges. He felt a bit feverish, so we kept a close eye on him throughout the evening and gave him Tylenol at night. I also wore him in the wrap most of the evening - Dr. Butcher has told us in the past that he gets antibodies from us, so keeping him close and especially nursing him will help with sharing and he can fight illness better.

Not feeling well :(

He didn't sleep all that well Tuesday night, but seemed to feel much better in the morning so we sent him on to daycare. Ms. Sandy said she'd keep a close watch on him, and she checked his temp throughout the day. Thankfully whatever it was seemed to have passed!

Wednesday night we had some more yummy cereal - he's now getting a serving twice per day, once at daycare for his morning meal, and once at dinner time. He's getting really good at eating with the spoon!

He was pretty wide awake Wednesday night, so we plopped him in his jumperoo for a bit. Boy, he has figured out how to make that thing rock 'n' roll! Really seems to enjoy it, too.

Unfortunately, that kind of wound him up a bit too late in the evening, so he was still kicking around all crazy-like while we were changing into his PJs.

He finally calmed after some books and nursing, and we got him to bed around 10:30. He slept until 5!

Last night (Thursday night) after dinner we went to Swamp Rabbit Brewery. He fell asleep in the car on the way there (7pm) and slept like a rock the entire 2 hours we were there. I thought, "Oh great, he's going to wake up and not want to sleep when we get home."

Boy was I wrong!

We got home, he woke up but was calm while he got his PJs on, and then nursed for about 10 mins before falling fast asleep. Into the crib he went (around 9:45) and didn't make a single peep all night! I even had to wake him up at 5:45 - he wasn't about to wake up himself. Wow!

Really hoping this is a pattern we're settling into... might try out some earlier bedtimes and see how that goes.

19 Weeks Old - Jump around, jump up, jump up and get down!

Ok I just have to say Saturday night was one of THE best ever! I love that these nights are coming more frequently.... we were out at dinner and Dargan was fussy. I knew he was tired and hoped he'd fall asleep in the car on the way to dinner, but he was awake and not happy. I put him in the wrap and walked him around the block - that put him to sleep and we were able to finish dinner in peace. This was somewhere around 7:30ish. We walked a bit after dinner then stopped into Barley's for a quick pint before heading home.

Dargan fussed when we transferred him into the car seat for the drive home, but fell asleep again on the way. I was thinking that since he'd been napping for the past ~2 hours he would have a hard time going to bed. He cried when I changed him into his PJs, but once he was changed, he nursed and was out... I put him in the crib thinking he'd be up in a few hours.

1:30am rolls around... I discovered I'd sprung a leak so I went to pump. I checked on Dargan and he had rotated himself 90 degrees and stuck his legs out between the crib bars. Yikes! I untangled him and rotated him back (thought for sure he would wake up and cry to be fed) - he squirmed a second then settled back into deep sleep. Yay!

I pumped then went back to bed, next thing I know is Dargan is starting to fuss and it's 5:45am! YES! I go in and he's now rotated himself a perfect 180 degrees from where I'd last left him. I don't know HOW he does that, but at least he kept his legs inside the crib this time.

So we got up for the day, Dargan ate (boy was HUNGRY) and then was all smiles for the morning. Love my happy, well-rested baby!

This week he has also been very chatty - constantly blowing bubbles, cooing, making noises. I swear that boy is going to be talking before we know it. I might be imagining things but it seems like sometimes he'll imitate us if we make a noise (blow a raspberry, coo at him, etc.). So much fun to have "conversations" with him. :)

We've still been eating our "solid" food every night this week. We got our newest toy... the Jumperoo! He was very unsure at first try, but he's been bouncing happily since then.

So overwhelmed.

Please, ma'am, tell me what I am doing in here?

On Thursday there was a concert in the neighborhood "park" along with a food truck. We had a lovely evening on the picnic blanket listening to the music and just looking around. Even Dargan was sitting up like a big boy (with some support) while mom and dad enjoyed some beverages. :)

First, a nap.

Concert watching.

More photos from the week...

Monkey jammies!

Almost reaching for our toes!

Fascinated by something on the ceiling (there's nothing on the ceiling).

Petting Leo

Giraffe footie jams

Oh hey, tummy time!

"How long do I have to hold up my huuuuge noggin?"

Napping in the ring sling on Saturday

Watching college football with Daddy (this kid loves the TV).

Most awesome dude on the block. We attempted a trip to the pool Sunday, but the water was too cold!

First Solid Foods!

After the 4 month appointment, Dargan was totally wiped out - he usually is exhausted after shots, but we refrained from preemptively giving any Tylenol to see how he would do.

The result?

OK so it wasn't the first time, but it was definitely the longest! He went down around 9:15pm (after napping at the brewery and the rest of the evening) and slept solidly until about 5:45am! Of course I was up every few hours checking on him but I was quite happy that he slept so well.

We had a great day on Saturday. We went on a 7-mile run in the nice cool fall-like weather, and Dargan loved looking around at the trees while we ran. We then ran some errands and then met Scott at Sunrift for their big 35th Annual Customer Appreciation celebration - live music, food & beer, and everything on sale!

Here we are being cute at home on Saturday:

Dargan got to wear his sweet dinosaur jacket (a hand-me-down from cousin Oliver) along with his new baby jeans! I just can't get over how cute they are.

Saturday night he didn't sleep very well, and after hearing him squirm around for about an hour I finally gave in and went to get him up for the day...

Somebody looked a little guilty for squirming all the way out of their swaddle!

At the instruction of our pediatrician, we picked up some rice cereal at the store on Sunday. I think we made it a bit too soupy but I guess for a first try it wasn't too bad. Dargan seemed to enjoy it, or at least didn't hate it!

First taste...

Hmm... not so bad.

Yummy!

All over my face and hands!

Unfortunately the old wive's tale that kids sleep through the night once they get solid foods? Yeah, not true. We've been up more the past 2 nights than we have in weeks! Hoping it's just his tummy getting adjusted to the new food. He doesn't seem to be bothered, just wakes up and still wants to eat! Maybe this is the 4 month sleep regression everyone talks about...

4 Months Old!

Didn't get to update at the beginning of the week, but knew I'd get to update later in the week for is 4 month update so I wasn't too worried!

I wasn't in a very good mood for my 4 month photos.

Look how much I've grown!

Loves: grabbing and holding things, drooling, rolling onto his side, and morning wake-up time (usually).
Hates: tummy time, being patient for meals when hungry (but really, who does?)

Today we had our 4 month checkup, and Mr. Man is now 13lb 3.5oz (8th percentile), 24 inches long (tall? also 8th percentile), and 19th percentile head size - I knew the kid had a big noggin! :) Basically Dr. Butcher says he is doing fantastic and has no concerns about his growth or development. We also got instructed to start SOLID FOODS so we'll be picking up some rice cereal at the store. YUM.

Other updates...

The weekend in Charlotte with the grandparents was great.

Everybody in the car!

Thrilled with the brewery tour at Lenny Boy Brewing Co.

Hanging out at Olde Meck Brewing

Stylin' and profilin'

Meeting a fellow little friend, Wendy!

From Myers Park to motherhood!

Floor playtime with D

Story time with Grannie

Ready to head home!

On Saturday night in Charlotte, we did have one breakthrough:

Dargan went to bed at 9:15pm and slept until 4am! I've been told that anything over 6 hours counts as "through the night" so hey, there it is! Of course he hasn't come close since then... but man that was amazing.

The week was pretty typical other than struggling with no A/C at home (still). Finally got that fixed today (Friday). Two weeks in the SC summer with no AC is ridiculous!

More pics from this week:

Dressed for the start of college football season over the weekend - go Gators!

Playtime and grabbing stuff!! 

Silly Faces!

More silly faces!

Tired after our 4 month appointment

So proud of our growing boy!