Changes, changes!

Hello all!

There isn't a whole lot to say about Angelo right now. He's doing pretty much the same things as I described in my last entry. Dave and I are going to Las Vegas from March 1st to the 4th and my fear is that Angelo will start crawling while I'm out of town. He's getting really close, I can feel it! At this point, he's able to prop himself up in the crawling position without assistance, but he still can't coordinate his hands and knees to get a move on. He's very good at turning himself around while on his tummy though and that's great!

His sleep habits are changing a bit, but he's still waking up a couple of times a week. Instead of it being 3:30am, it's around 6am. We'll put him down around 10pm, he'll sleep for about an hour, wake up and then go back to bed around 12-12:30am. Odd, huh? The other days he just goes to bed between 11pm and 12am, then wake up around 9 or 10am. I love those days. That gives me time to eat breakfast and work out for about 20 minutes.

The Bubs is getting some separation anxiety now. I noticed it a bit last month, but now he can't stand it when I go into another room, even for a minute. He'll start crying and it's oh so sad. If he's in his jumperoo and has his back turned toward me, he doesn't notice me moving around from room to room. Once he's bored, however, it's a whole new ballgame. He's sitting up on his own and not tipping over anymore, which is way cool. So if he gets bored of his jumperoo, I can plop him on his butt with a toy and clean or work out while in the same room.

Angelo is holding his bottle more steadily these days, thank God! He still needs a bit of work because he's easily distracted. When Dave is feeding him Angelo grabs his chin, trying to figure out what Dave's stubble is all about, LOL. Bubbas has also started grabbing my lips when I speak to him. It's too cute! I've also noticed that the Bubs is getting really attached to Trenity and Halle when they're here. If they're in the living room with him, he wants to play and when they leave, he cries.

That's about all for the Bubs at the moment, now on to me!

I mentioned before that we got a Wii Fit. I didn't realize how out of shape I actually was until I started the program. Yoga was always a pain in the ass, but now I can do it! I've been using the Wii Fit for 21 days now and guess what? I've lost 11 pounds!!! It took me about 3 days to get used to the exercises and I'm not a pro yet, but I'm getting there quickly.

I was a bit down the first couple of weeks because I couldn't figure out why I wasn't losing much weight, but then we bought The Biggest Loser cookbook and it turns out that I wasn't eating enough calories. Can you believe that? My dumb ass was skipping breakfast and eating my meals way too late in the day as well. Not a great combo if you want to drop some pounds. The other great thing about that cookbook is that we're learning how to make family meals in less than 30 minutes. This has saved my life, big time! Now we can't make up excuses as to why we're not eating right anymore, which is lovely.

So last week Dave and I upped our calories and adjusted our eating schedule. We're seeing amazing results and I'm VERY happy! I only have 9 more pounds to lose until I hit my pre-preggo weight and then I have 20 more to lose to get back to my pre-Dave weight, LOL. I'm hoping to achieve my 140 pound goal by the end of April.

Now, here's the best thing about me working out...I have more time in my day!

I know..sounds crazy right? Well, it's actually happening. I think it's a combination between me having more physical energy due to working out and Angelo being able to occupy himself more. What I found to be most interesting is that I'm motivated on a much higher level. I'm happier when I'm exercising and not just because I'm losing the weight. Even if I wasn't, my body chemistry is different, which has caused me to see things from a completely different perspective. I feel as though I'm ready and available to do the things I really want to do in my life. This is so exciting!

6 Months Old...officially!

Hey guys!

Angelo is 6 months old today...officially. It's been a crazy ride thus far and it's hard to believe that I was about 13/14 weeks pregnant at this time last year. I'm turning 30 tomorrow, which is a huge milestone for me. I've been thinking a lot about life and what I want for my son's future. I feel as though God has bestowed this gift of motherhood upon me for a reason. Apparently I have something specific to offer and I fully intend on finding out what that is.

Okay, enough of that sappy crap. On to the cuteness!

The Bubs is cutting his first tooth and it should pop any day now. His gums are swollen REALLY bad and I'm guessing that he may have a couple show up around the same time. He's a little fussy when he's in pain, but it's not that bad. I actually thought it would be way worse. I believe he's inconsistent with his sleep due to the teething and moving around in his crib. I used to sleep walk when I was a child and it's quite possible that Angelo may take after me in that regard. I sure hope not!

Angelo is all about reaching for stuff now. He'll go for anything, but mostly toy balls, draw strings on clothes, hair, food, his stuffed dinosaur or the hanging toys on his jumperoo. It's quite amazing to see him react when he gets what he wants and when he doesn't. He's now reaching for me when he's sitting on Dave's lap and I walk into the room. That's just adorable!

The crawling lessons are going fairly well. He can finally get up on all fours and stay there for a while. Then he'll try and make his knees jump, but hasn't figured out how to use his hands to move himself forward quite yet. He gets frustrated easily in that position and I feel bad for the boy. He just wants his stuff, damnit!

He's eating his solids about twice a day now, depending on how much time we have or what we're doing, but he still desires his bottle in a big way. It's as though the solids aren't enough, which is fine. I just don't want to make him fat. He's been trying hard to hold his bottle consistently, but gets easily distracted by our clothes for some reason. When I feed him, he's always trying to grab my glasses and hair, of course.

Now, on to me...

Dave and I bought a Nintendo Wii last week and we're officially in love. He got me the Wii Fit, which has allowed me to work out more during the day. I'm not into video games, but this thing is not only fun, but really gives me a great work-out and it's really convenient! It's also good for giving me something to do while the Bubs is awake, besides cleaning and laundry. He loves the colors and animation as well. Now I don't have to cram everything I need to get done while Angelo is taking his naps. I feel like I have more time to do the important stuff, thank God! So I'm losing weight and managing my time better...all because of a video game, LOL!

I've lost 3 pounds so far and I've only been doing this for a week. I'm soooo exited! I also received a good lesson in buying the right size jeans from my friend Nikki yesterday. Can you believe I was buying clothes that were too BIG? Yeah... I'm not really a 14/16, I'm a 12! Geeze, you'd think I would know this stuff, but when I was pregnant, I got used to buying super size clothing. I feel stupid...in a good way!

Big Boy Bubbas

"I think I need to be changed Mom, but please...don't take away the food!"


"Okay, I'm done with the camera!"



"Awww man!"

Bubbas at 24 weeks with his new truck

Angelo is now 24 weeks old! That’s 6 months since I’ve given birth to him. I can’t believe we’re here already. My son was 8lbs, 11 oz and 22 inches long. Next week we go in for his 6 month check-up and last round of shots until he turns 1. I’m guessing that he’ll weigh in at around 21 lbs and 26-26.5 inches long. I’ve been right so far when guessing his weight and length and we’ll see if I do it again this time!

As you know, we’ve got him sitting up on his own, rolling over and standing with assistance. Now we’re working on “the scoot” and crawling. He can get into position, but can’t keep it for very long. He can, however, use his arms to turn 180 degrees to either side when he spots something he’d like to grab. He’s not only doing this on the floor, but in his crib as well. Due to my child’s habit of rolling over and turning himself around in that thing, I decided to weave his crib bumper through every other bar so that he doesn’t get stuck or pull it over his head. It’s working out beautifully!

Bubbas is really into his solids now. He eats his stage one veggies and fruits within 10 minutes, without a problem. I found these rice wafers for babies that he absolutely LOVES. I give it to him as a little snack every other day or so. He’s eating one in the pics I posted. It’s so funny to see him self-feed. He gets all excited and once he’s gotten the wafer mashed up enough, he shoves it in his mouth like it’s candy.

I wish I had more to report, but that’s about all for now. I’ll be updating about every 2 weeks, as new things happen or when I want to share cute moments.

Happy New Year - Bubbas Update

Daddy and Santa Bubbas

The new toy box

Angelo's favorite toy from Mommy and Daddy

Bouncing around this morning

Mommy and Angelo on New Year's Eve!

"I can sit up on my own now!"

Hey everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year's Eve! Angelo is now 23 weeks old and has grown a great deal physically and developmentally in the last two weeks. First of all, we've got him sitting up on his own and that has helped him find his feet! Yes folks, he sits up and then reaches down to grab his toes. From behind he looks like a Butterball turkey, I swear to God!

Second, he has graduated from the newborn bather to being able to take a bath in the tub with a little assistance. I put him in for the first time a couple of days ago and he went crazy. I used a little bit of his baby wash to conjure up some bubbles and he splashed around happily. It was so cool to see his eyes gleam with wonder as he popped the bubbles. I should've had my camera on hand because it really was a Kodak moment. Next time, I promise!

Christmas time was pretty busy with going to Michigan for a short weekend and then having Christmas #2 at Dave's parents' house. The kids got a lot of stuff and now I have to find room for it all. Time to purge the house of all our unnecessary crap! Angelo got some toys and since we didn't have anywhere to put them, Dave and I bought him a baseball toy box yesterday. It's really cute! I wish his room was bigger so we could put it in there, but it's sitting in our living room for now.

Bubbas is eating his solids really well. He eats the entire thing in about 10 minutes, which makes me wonder if level 1 baby food is big enough to fill him up. I don't want to give him level 2 yet because it may be too much and we'll have a lot left over, so we'll see how it goes. Formula alone isn't cutting it. This past week I noticed that a tooth is starting to break through his bottom gum. Right now it just looks like a little dot, but I know it's gonna pop up soon.

We went to my friend Nikki's house for New Year's Eve and had a blast. Angelo did really well with all the excitement and was able to fall asleep in his Pack 'N Play around 11pm. He must have been real pooped because yesterday he slept from 11am to 2pm for his first nap, didn't take his afternoon one and then went to bed at 8pm.

The Bubs is learning so much from those Baby Einstein videos. Right now we've got him watching the one that teaches babies their first movements, which includes everything from sitting up to dancing. I'm trying to get him familiar with the names of his movements so when I say it, he'll do it. For example, when I say "reach", he puts his arms out toward me. It's adorable! This latest video is really interactive between the mother and child so it makes learning a lot easier.

I was going through Angelo's clothes the other day and realized that he barely wore the outfits he had in size 3-6 months. Now he's in 6 and 6-9 months. We have a lot of stuff that's just 6 months so it looks like I'll have to go shopping again. Most of the "hand-me-down" clothes shrunk big time and aren't their actual size, which means that he's already grown out of them.

After separating everything, I noticed that he has A LOT of stuff and now I have to find a place to store it all. I guess I'll have to buy a tote or just put everything in a garbage bag in the basement. His closet is too small and because it sits on the stairway, there isn't a spot for storage, just a silly looking shoe rack we'll never use.

That's all for now! See you next week...

Cristin

5 Months Old!

My 'lil Bubs is 5 mos old now and I can't believe it! I say that every month that passes, but I can't help it. I'm so amazed at how time flies in the blink of an eye. I'm starting to lose track of how many weeks has passed since I gave birth to him because life is taking over.

Dave, the girls, Angelo and I went to Michigan for Christmas with my side of the family. Angelo helped open his gifts and then stuck the wrapping paper right in his mouth, LOL! It was adorable. I'm waiting on pictures from my mom and sister since I forgot my camera. He had a hard time sleeping at my mom's house since it's a strange environment and there was so much excitement. We just got home yesterday (Sunday the 21st) so hopefully he'll get back on track today.

Angelo is back to sleeping through the night so I'm hoping he sticks with it. He goes to bed by 11pm and wakes up between 6 and 7am, eats and then goes back to sleep until about 9 or 10am. It's like he's sleeping all night and taking his morning nap at the same time, which works just fine for me. I can get a lot done in that time. He still takes an afternoon nap around 3pm and that nap has proven to be a necessity.

The Bubs is on solids more now, although we haven't been consistent with twice a day yet. He's had green beans, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce, pears and rice cereal. He likes the squash, sweet potatoes, pears and applesauce the best. Due to the solids, I'm trying to keep him on 6 ounces of formula, but he's not happy unless he gets 8, so I'm still trying to adjust things a bit. He's also struggling with eating every 4 hours instead of 2 1/2 or 3. I don't want to over feed him since he's already reached 19 lbs and in size 3 diapers. He gets a good work out with his Jumperoo though, so I'm guessing he burns a ton of calories with that thing. Angelo tries to hold his bottle during feedings, but ends up either pushing it in too far, or accidentally swatting it away. When he's done eating, he does this baby curl-up to try and sit up straight. It's really precious to watch.

Angelo is teething pretty bad now. I can feel the grooves in his bottom gums and can see the little teeth trying to break through. Hopefully they'll come in soon. I think he's doing pretty well though. He's not a huge whiner, but you can tell when his gums are hurting. That damn Baby Orajel doesn't do jack for him though. He hates the taste and the numbing doesn't last long due to all the drooling. He isn't taking to teething rings either. He still prefers chewing on his and our clothes and his blankets/burp cloths.

On the development side, the Bubs can stand on his tippy toes with us holding his hands and he's pretty steady. He rolls over just fine, but only from his tummy to his back. We're trying to help him sit up on his own, but all he does his reach over to touch his feet. I'm hoping that next month he'll be able to do it better. Bubbas likes to take his toys and shove them in his mouth. My God-Mother's daughter bought him some balls (yeah, that sounded good) that have different designs in them. If he's on his tummy, he can reach for them, tries to hold them and shoves them in his mouth, LOL. Although he can't understand why he can't chew on them, LOL. He still loves the Baby Einstein videos and we just got a new one from my sister. He's testing it out now, but so far so good.

Like I said earlier, Angelo is now about 19 pounds and in size 3 diapers. You know what really bugs me? It seems like everyone in town had a child when I did because I can NEVER find the brand of diapers in the size I want. I favor Pampers Swaddlers, but am now using the Pampers Cruisers. This time I had to settle for Luvs because nothing else was available and I refuse to buy store brand. They suck, BIG TIME! At least I got off cheap this time though. Luvs are decent and pretty affordable. I really wish the store brand diapers were good because I hate spending a lot of money. Oh and Sam's club doesn't have my brand in bulk either....Damnit!

I'm waiting for the Bubs to start the "Army Crawl". It looks like he's getting ready to start that pretty soon. As for talking, his "O's" are very clear and I've got him forming his mouth to say "Mmmm" for "Mama". Sometimes he does the "Ohhh Mmmm" as if to say, "Oh Mama!", which is something I've been playing around with as well. He hasn't blurted out "Dada" yet, thank God! I'll be damned if he says that first!

Dave, the girls, Angelo and I went for our family pictures last week and we'll be picking them up tomorrow afternoon. I was able to get the Bubs to smile big a few times and the pictures of all 3 kids turned out beautifully. Dave and I, on the other hand, look like we've been smoking a lot of weed. It's too bad that we take such awful pictures! I'll be scanning them Tuesday night and will post them as soon as I can. We got them done at Target because there's a 20% off in-store discount and no sitting fees. We ended up paying $70 for 2- 8x10's, 4- 5x7's, 4- 3.5 x 5's and 8 wallets. They did a really great job too, so if any of you are looking to do this, Target may be the way to go.

Now, on to me...

I've been working out twice a day and eating right consistently, with the exception of this past weekend at my Mom's. If I can lost a pound a week, I'd be very happy. So I've lost 43 out of the 54 pounds I gained during pregnancy. Only 11 pounds to go and then another 20 to get back to my weight before I met Dave. My mom sent me a 10-day diet, which didn't do jack for me. Dave lost 14 pounds though. That really pisses me off, LOL, but I'm happy for him at the same time. Sometimes I feel like a failure because I haven't lost all my weight by now. My son is 5 mos old and my baby belly should be gone, but Nooooooooo, not me!

I can't wait until the holidays are over so I can get my life back in order. It's utter chaos around here, especially with the girls. We're having behavioral issues with Dave's 8 yr-old and her mother isn't help one bit. She gets spoiled at her mom's and acts like a brat at our house. We've tried everything but giving her a tour of the police station, which we may end up doing. I'm terrified that if she doesn't clean up her act, Angelo will turn out the same way so I have to work over-time to make sure that doesn't happen.

Anyway, that's all for now. I you enjoy your holidays!

"Mmmmm"

Angelo is almost 20 weeks old! That puts him just shy of 5 months. I remember when I was 20 weeks pregnant and that's when I received confirmation that my baby was indeed a boy. It's been a year and 3 weeks since I found out I was pregnant and a year since my first ultrasound. The Bubs wasn't a bubs, he was just a little grain of rice. Isn't it amazing how quickly they grow in and out of the womb? I got on the scale with Angelo today. He's 19 pounds and in size 3 diapers. His 2's didn't even last a whole month!

Angelo is eating about 8 ounces of formula per feeding and we're trying to transition him to solids. Like I said before, our doctor told us he needed to be on solids twice a day, but the Bubs isn't allowing it yet. He's been real cranky due to teething and I can't feed him when he's upset. We're going to try and get him consistent with his rice cereal every night first and then get him on his fruit in the mornings. He is very good with eating the solids when he wants to, though. His tongue reflex is gone and he swallows without a problem.

A couple of weeks ago the Bubs found his hands and now he's found his ears. It's so cute to see him grabbing them and the look of wonder on his face is absolutely priceless. He's only able to roll over from his tummy, but not his back at this time. He bounces like crazy in his Jumperoo and I think we'll be able to put it on the #2 setting soon.

His "O's" are super clear now. It's so awesome! Today, after 4 months of me pounding it into his head (not literally, of course!) he put out a big "MMMMMM" to try and say "Mama". I'm so excited because I know he's going to just blurt it out soon. I caught Dave going behind my back, trying to teach Angelo "Dada" last night and I ran right in there to stop the madness, LOL! This child will say "Mama" first, if it kills me!

Unfortunately Angelo is still waking up in the middle of the night for some reason and we can't figure out why. He slept throughout the night from the very beginning and now I feel like I've got a 2 week old baby on my hands. He must be going through a lot of changes right now. What's odd though is that yesterday he was really tired. It's as if his two naps weren't enough, but I couldn't let him have a third or else he won't fall asleep well. Last week Dave came down with a cold and passed it along to the Bubs. My poor baby is snotting all over the place, but he's getting better. This could also be part of the reason he's not been sleeping through the night lately.

Now, on to me...

Dave and I went on this 10-day diet in effort to lose some of our "congratulations, you just had a baby" weight. He lost 14 lbs and I lost 2. That really sucks, but I guess I should be happy because something is better than nothing. I decided that dieting doesn't work for me so I'm going back to just eating healthy and working out. When I'm supposed to lose the weight, I will.

We're going to Michigan for Christmas #1 and we're bringing all 3 kids. I just hope we have enough room in the car for all our stuff. My sister is lending us some of her baby stuff so we don't have to bring all of Angelo's crap with us. Laura she just found out that she's pregnant with baby #2 and she'll be due about a week after Angelo's first birthday. Dave and I are going to try and get Angelo to meet Santa this Wednesday, if we can muster up some time. I really want to get a picture of his first time with the Claus.

By the way, the pictures in this entry were taken this past Saturday at the Wild Lights exhibit at the Columbus Zoo.

17/18 Week Update

17 weeks - Bouncing in the Jumperoo


17 weeks - After rolling over


16 weeks- "Look Mommy, I found my hands!"

Hey everyone! Sorry I missed last week's update. I've been extremely busy due to Thanksgiving and having to watch the girls while Dave was at work. I've also been working my ass off because I ran a sale, but now that it's over, I have some time to get caught up on the updates.

Angelo will be 18 weeks old tomorrow and is doing really well. He is getting fussy a lot and that's due to him teething. The drool in unbelievable and he's chewing on every little thing he gets his hands on. We've been using Baby Orajel and although he hates the taste, I think it's working for him a bit.

He's back to sleeping throughout the night and is going to bed a bit earlier these days. The poor 'lil guy is just exhausted by 9:30pm and clunks out on us. He is still moving around a lot in his sleep, but isn't rolling on to his back anymore. He may start that up again, who knows, but for now it's looking pretty good. I had to remove the bumper from the crib because he was pulling it over his head and getting caught in it.

Now I'm finding his arms hanging out of the crib when he wakes in the morning. That freaks me out, but no damage has been done. The Bubs has been waking up pretty happy lately too! I'll hear him mumbling to himself. I go in there to start our day and he's pushed his chest up and looking around for me. Then I start singing my "Good morning to you" song and he flashes me a series of beautiful smiles that just melt my heart. I'm going to leave my camera on his dresser for those moments.

I think the holiday spoiled him a bit because everyone was holding him and now he wants Dave and I to do the same thing ALL the time. It's so exhausting! Angelo is getting better with playing by himself in the Jumperoo while his video is on. He'll watch it twice in a row and then he's done. He's finally taken to the swing as well. I had him in it the other day and he fell asleep. I have to replace the batteries in his bouncy seat and I'm going to see if he likes that now.

I think I said it before, but he's a lot happier in the car now. When we're stopped at the light, however, he gets fussy, LOL! I think our trip to Michigan at Christmas will be very different this time because we're taking the freeway, the girls will be with us and he'll probably get more sleep. Last time he screamed bloody murder the whole way, to and from which killed me! It was absolutely AWFUL.

My 'lil Bubs is full of smiles these days, which makes me very happy. He laughs a lot more now too. He's doing some funny things as well. When it's time for a diaper change, he puts his legs up and pushes his butt up. When it's time for a bottle, he opens his mouth then tries to grab it. When he's done eating, he tries to push himself into a sitting position, but he hasn't been able to get there yet. I try to pull him up to make him sit, but he just stands up like a board, LOL. So from laying on his back to standing, nice.

It looks like I'm getting Angelo back to his regular nap schedule and that has been comforting. I'm pretty sure he's going through a growth spurt and clearly needs his rest.

Now, on to me!

Things are crazy in my house. I'm so glad I got my Christmas decorations up early this year. I started my Christmas shopping last week and I'm hoping to be done with most of it by the end of next week. We're going to Michigan from the 19th-21st, which is NOT enough time, but I can't stay longer because we're bringing Dave's girls with us. I think I'm going to go back in January because there are a lot of people I need to see and they haven't met Angelo yet. He'll be six months old by the time I can make that happen, sheesh!

I lost 2 more pounds, but that's not enough so Dave and I are starting a 10-day diet that my mother suggested. My first day is today so we'll see how it goes. I still have the "baby belly" in a major way. I thought most of it would be gone by now, but nope! I also still have that dark line on my stomach and I thought that would've faded by now, but nope! I was taking a bath the other day and thought, "My God, I still look pregnant! This is ridiculous."

Now that Angelo is 4 1/2 months old, I feel like I've finally got it together in the motherhood department. The biggest concern I had was my work and down time schedule. I think that things are beginning to balance out now and that will decrease my stress, which I've needed in the worst way.

That's about it for now. I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Cristin