Snow Day!

Well, we got a TON of snow. I am not really sure how much, partly because I haven't really stepped foot in the snow. We've had a few snows since Gunner was born but this was the first one I took him outside in. I bundled him up in his little bear suit and we took some pictures!




Mommy and Gunner enjoying our snow day!

He's a Big Boy Now...and Mommy is Tired

Gunner has made the transition to sleeping in his crib full time! This began last Friday night. I wanted to try it at the beginning of the weekend in case he got up several times so that Daniel would let me nap the following day... He actually slept all night! And that was the ONLY night he slept all night. Every night since then he has woken up more than twice, and I have been woken up by his Angel Care monitor alarm at least once every night. He gets gassy during his sleep and grunts and scoots around his crib which places him off the sensor that's under the matress. This causes the alarm to sound since it can't pick up the movement of his breathing which causes Mommy and Daddy mild cardiac arrest while they sprint to the other side of the house. (More so Mommy than Daddy since the first time it went off Daddy kept trying to turn off the alarm clock...)

Hopefully in a few weeks we will figure this out and he will go back to sleeping all night. Here are some pics of him playing in his crib wrapped in Daddy's old baby blanket!

Too Much of a Good Thing

Poor Gunner. I have too much milk! I never thought that would be a problem, but it is. There are even articles about it on La Leche League's site. Interesting. He has been having a hard time nursing lately and I've been more uncomfortable too. We're working to get everything back to normal, and I think we're on track.

If you're a mom-to-be and planning to breastfeed, you might check out LLLI's site. (llli.org) Don't make fun, I don't know how to do that link thing...
Anyway, they have some great info and it might be a good idea to read up on some possible struggles new moms have in case you run into that at some point.

This post is short. Gunner is about to wake from his nap. Here is a quick summary of how we're doing though!

-Nap time is great. He takes several naps a day (all in his crib, in his room!) and he goes down very easily. All I have to do is change him and swaddle him, and he starts to doze off. He's that easy in the evenings too...

-Night time is still wonderful. He goes to sleep quickly and sleeps between 8 and 10 hours!! We're getting ready to permanently move him to his room for all sleeping though.

-His reflux is much better. The meds the doctor gave him work great and he spits up a lot less.

-I am still loving being at home. I am getting excited about the spring and summer where we can play outside!

That's all for now! I think I hear the little man stirring!

This And That

I have yet to update on how cloth diapers are going, and it's been over a month since I started them! To sum up, it's been wonderful. I have figured them out and gotten in the groove of washing. Shortly after starting cloth diapers, I also started using cloth wipes. That is probably more work than the diapers, but it's helped his poor little sensitive bottom. And it's saving us more money! I'm using squares of flannel material that my mom cut out and she sewed the edges for a clean look. I roll them up in my wipe warmer and pour on my homemade solution. I need to get more wipes, but other than that, it's going great.

Gunner had his first shots on his two month "birthday". He cried, and I had to try hard not to cry. I had Daniel there to hold him while he was getting his shots. I couldn't watch. He is growing fast! On 12-23 he weighed just over ten pounds and was 22 1/4 inches long. He has moved out of newborn clothes into 0-3 month clothes. He is holding his head up great and smiling and laughing a ton. He is still having tummy troubles, but the doctor put him on some medicine for his reflux so that's helped.

I am still enjoying being a SAHM! (stay at home mom) The main question people ask me is "Do you get bored?" and the answer is no. I am never bored. Gunner keeps me on my toes and there is always house work to be done. I had been sick on and off during the last couple of weeks though, so I'm looking forward to getting back on my normal "schedule". I've got high hopes to get some major cleaning projects done this month though, so hopefully I can accomplish those.

Unless you've actually ever stayed home with a baby, you would probably think there is a lot of down time. This is not true. A typical day of mine is spent waking up between 5am and 8am, depending on when Gunner gets up. (Usually around 6) I change him, feed him, and burp him. This usually takes a good hour. I sit him in his bouncer for a bit and eat breakfast, maybe take a shower (sometimes I don't get a shower until noon...) and by the time two hours have passed, he is ready for a nap. This is where it begins to vary depending on how he is feeling. Most of the time he is out and sleeps for at least 45 minutes. Some times he wakes up 15 minutes later. Either way, I try to get some things done. (He is napping now, but today I was able to get his diapers and wipes folded and put away while the other laundry is washing and drying) When he wakes up, it's time to change, feed and burp him again, another hour. He eats every 2.5-3 hours, so most of my day is spent feeding and burping him. I have to make sure and burp him well or else he will spit it all up. Between feedings, I am either taking a shower or getting ready, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, cooking, or cleaning other parts of the house. This is on a normal day. There are days where he is having a lot of stomach issues and cries a ton, and during those days I am usually trying to calm him down and make him feel better. I get much less done those days. On a good day I can get all the laundry done, his room cleaned, the house picked up, the kitchen cleaned and possibly do a little relaxing. On a day where I have to go somewhere or run errands, MUCH less is done since I have to time it right to get anywhere on time. If I get in the shower right after he eats, I can be done getting ready just in time for him to be changed and eat again. My days are never the same.

I have completely cut out all dairy from my diet in an attempt to help with his tummy troubles. I think it's been 5 days. It's HARD since I love to drink milk, but I think it's helping. Plus, he should have a better tolerance in about a month or two.

I desperately need a hair cut. I am going to try and call to make an appointment today. I think my last appointment was in September.

Just a few random things I wanted to share!

The Power of Prayer

I have always known that prayer is a powerful thing. I have seen some huge prayers answered in my life. I have also gotten to experience a few answered prayers that may not seem like something worth praying about to most people.

My first memory of God answering my prayer was in high school. I was always the last one out of the house in the mornings and this day I was late for school. I had also lost my car keys somewhere in the house. This was a very common occurrence, for you see, I am related to Ginger Hamrick: Queen of Misplaced Items. I always lose stuff, it's in my genes. I was getting so flustered trying to look for my keys, so I stopped, closed my eyes and prayed, "God, look, I am late for school and I cannot find my car keys! Please help me find them..." I stood there for a few more seconds and the next place I looked, there they were! I was actually kind of surprised! What a dumb prayer, why would He care to help me with something so meaningless? It wasn't meaningless to me, I actually laughed out loud and said "THANK YOU GOD! THAT WAS AWESOME!" as I ran to my car. It was kind of huge, it was the first time I really felt like I had proof that God existed! Now, I always believed that He was there, I just never really had anything happen like that and it was kind of weird. From then on I never hesitated to ask for help on the little things in life. It was kind of like talking to a friend.

I bring this up because I don't think I have had more "mini" answered prayers in such a short time before. Since Gunner's birth, there have been tons of moments where I have prayed about something small, and God always answers. My first example is during the delivery. I prayed the whole time that I could make it through, that Gunner would make it through and be healthy, and that it wouldn't take very long. All answered. The other day I was making a big trip to Wal Mart for the first time with him and before I put him in his car seat I prayed that God would keep Gunner calm and happy, that he wouldn't cry while we were out, that I wouldn't stress about him crying, and that I could get everything I needed at the store without looking too hard. All answered. I have prayed about breastfeeding before too! He seems to have a lot of difficulty, and there were a few times where he wouldn't stop crying, and I would pray that God would just help us through this so Gunner could feel better, and as soon as I opened my eyes, he had calmed down. The one that makes me smile every single time happens nearly every night. I'm a worrier. It's another genetic trait I have. The main thing I worry about is if Gunner stops breathing while he's asleep. That's what kept me up most nights in the beginning. I check on him constantly when he's napping, and often during the night. There will be times where I'll be almost asleep, but I can't hear him breathing in his bassinet beside me, and I'm so tired I don't want to roll over to check on him. So I pray "God, help me know that he's ok so I can sleep..." And before I can finish my prayer Gunner will let out a big sigh. Lately, I can just think about it and Gunner will make some sort of noise letting me know he's fine. And every single time, I smile and say "Thanks."

It's pretty amazing to know I have a God who cares about my every day life enough to help me find my car keys when I lose them. I don't need a big bolt of lightening or a pillar of fire to know He's there.

Well guess who went to Wal Mart with a two month old? ME! =)

I have been getting Daniel to get our groceries because I was so hesitant to take Gunner with me. Well it got to the point where we needed LOTS of things from the store and we didn't get to take advantage of getting them during the weekend...so I decided now was as good a time as any! I timed it perfectly. I changed his diaper, fed him, burped him, he dozed off a bit and I stuck him in the car seat! He did wonderful. He slept the whole time.

One thing I did to make it easier was to park near a cart corral. I was able to put his car seat in a cart and push it in instead of carrying him all the way from the car with the cold wind. Much easier!

It was super crowded today also. It's the week of Christmas, and I imagine tons of people have the week off. I still think going during the day was a much better decision than going after 5pm.

I've been able to also get some laundry done and some gifts wrapped! It's been a good day. I seem to do better if I get up before 8am. Speaking of, Gunner slept all night again last night! He went to sleep between 9 and 10pm and didn't wake up until nearly 8am! Such a good boy. =)

Mini Vacation

We took a two day trip to Branson with Mom and Dad! We needed to get away for a little while. It was really fun and Gunner did great. He had a bit of a tummy ache (I've really got to watch my diet...) but other than that, he loved it! We went down Friday afternoon, ate some dinner, got settled at the condo, and on Saturday we went shopping and to Silver Dollar City to see the lights! After that we went through the Trail of Lights and it was beautiful.

















Gunner stayed very warm all weekend. We had him bundled up very well at SDC in the stroller and he slept the whole time!