Austin's 6 month visit

Austin went in today for his 6 month check-up. He weighs 20 lbs. 1 oz. which is in the 88th percentile and he's 27 inches long which is the 71st percentile. His head circumference measured in the 71st percentile as well. The doctor was very impressed by Austin's physical stature and said that he was pretty advanced for a 6 month old. (I knew I had a little smarty-pants!) He couldn't believe Austin was already sitting on his own so well, pushing up on all fours and putting syllables together and saying things like "ma-ma." He said we'd have a little crawler on our hands in no time!

The doctor answered my endless list of questions while Austin wiggled in my arms, wanting to get loose and check everything out in this new place. He smiled and flirted with all the nurses, tried several times to pull the doctor's hair and tore up all the paper on the exam table. He was being his usual happy-go-lucky self until the end of the visit when the 3rd and 4th shot went into his chubby little legs and he finally realized what was going on. He let out one of those silent screams where his mouth was wide open and his face was all red, but no sound was coming out. When the sound finally did come out it was one of the loudest, most pitiful cries I've heard yet, but the nurses quickly whisked him into my arms and after a few minutes of snuggles and rocking he was back to his happy self again. He even gave one of the nurses a big smile before she left the room which she said made her feel so much better about having to be the inflicter of pain. We were still very happy to leave knowing that there would be no more shots for three more months!!

Half Birthday!

I can barely believe it, but Austin is officially 6 months old today! It's hard to think that half of a year has already passed since the day he was born. The things he has learned and the way he has grown and changed in this past few weeks as well as the past 6 months have been unbelievable! He is seriously learning and doing new things everyday and I can just see those little wheels in his head churning every time I look at him.




Austin has been sitting well for over a month, but now he can sit for much longer periods of time as well as turn and pick up his toys and look all around without losing his balance. If he does lose his balance, however, he can usually push himself back into the sitting position without toppling over. He will also raise up onto all fours when on his belly like he's trying to crawl. I've put toys in front of him to see him try to move towards them, but he always ends up kicking his legs out and scooting backwards for some reason instead of forwards! He loves his toys and his hand-eye coordination has really improved. He will grab anything in his reach and either put it directly into his mouth or bang it against the floor, table or whatever else is around. He really enjoys making noise either by banging or shaking his toys or with his own mouth. He has recently learned to "blow raspberries" and thinks it's hilarious when you do it back to him. Several times he has done it with food in his mouth, causing it to splatter everywhere! He is also saying "ma-ma," but usually only when he's getting tired or frustrated. He may not know that I am "ma-ma," but he sure knows that saying it gets my attention! Ryan caught a cute video of him saying it the other weekend that I'll have to post soon.


In addition, Austin has become quite the wiggle worm! He is no longer my cuddly little boy, in fact, if I want to cuddle him now he pretty much has to be asleep or have a bottle in his mouth! He is SO interested in everything around him and wants to touch and feel and put everything he sees in his mouth. He loves to grab hair, jewelry, noses, lips, clothing, dog hair, cat fur, his spoon, his toys, the phone, the remote, and pretty much anything else within reach, but most recently, his favorite things to grab are his own feet! Every time I go to get him out of his crib he is on his back with his feet in the air and trying to grab them and put them in his mouth. He's quite flexible for a pudgy little fellow and while sitting up can lean all the way forward to his feet and put his toes in his mouth.

At 6 months, Austin is wearing size 12 months clothing and some of those are even fitting a bit snug! He is in a size 3 diaper and wears a size 3 shoe. He is eating four 8 oz. bottles a day every 4 hours and I can usually get one stage 1 baby food in over 2 feedings. He tried squash for the first time today and liked it alright, but bananas are by far his favorite and the only food he will eat a whole serving of at one sitting. Austin is on a great schedule now and wakes up every morning between 7-7:30am, has a nap at 9 and another one at 1:30, a power nap around 6 and then off to bed between 8-9 pm.


Austin is such a sweet, happy, social, good tempered, smart little guy who's ALL boy...just like his daddy! He makes me so proud and I'm delighted to call him my baby boy! I can't wait to see what the next few months have in store!!

Austin's Nursery

From the day we came home from the hospital until last Friday, Austin slept in his pack n' play which was located in the corner of our bedroom. His nursery is upstairs and our bedroom is down, so we felt uncomfortable when he was only days old being so far away from him. At the beginning we decided that once he turned 6 months we would finally move him into his own room, but we went ahead with it a little earlier than planned and tried it out last Friday night while Ryan was on "duty!" Austin woke up twice but was easily calmed back to sleep and last night he finally slept all the way through the night in his own room without waking!!

We are very glad to have made this difficult transition and happy that it went as smoothly as it has so far. Not having a baby in our bedroom has given Ryan and I a lot more freedom and we are exctied to finally be getting use out of Austin's nursery which we worked so hard on. I think he likes his room now that he's getting use to it.

Bye-bye baby weight...

So, in case you're wondering, there is a reason why you rarely see pictures of me posted on the blog. They exist, I promise, but I've been struggling with my weight since Austin was born and have been extremely embarassed by the way I look. Austin will be 6 months old tomorrow and I've only lost 20 of the 38 pounds I gained while pregnant. I know what you're thinking, 18 pounds isn't THAT much...but a little goes a long way on someone who isn't even 5 foot tall!! I don't know why I've had such a hard time losing the extra weight, I thought breastfeeding would help, but I think the fact that my body was doing double duty actually made me hungrier and so the fact that I was eating more balanced out the calories burned by my breastfeeding.

Anyway, it's getting close to summer time which means wedding season and beach trips are looming in the distance and it's about time to quit worrying about my weight and actually do something! So...today I talked to a woman from Curves and I actually qualify for a month long study that they're doing right now that is free of long term commitment or contracts. In order to remain in the study I must go three times a week for a month and submit my results to their study at the end. At that time, I can decide if the program is for me, if it's working for my body and my schedule and whether or not I want to continue.

This really is a great option for me because I can go early in the morning before Austin wakes up or up until 6pm after Ryan gets home from work. It's also great because it's for a limited amount of time which will give me the chance to preview their program and decide if it's the right fit for me. I really hope that this will give me the push I need to get rid of these extra pounds and I actually can't wait to start working out tomorrow!!

Please pray for me y'all! Pray that I have the willpower to get started and keep going and pray that I can stick with it and get some of this weight off so I can be a healthier and happier wife and mommy!! I can't wait to keep you updated on my (hopeful) progress.

Maybe if I try hard enough I can look the way I did 10 years ago!! It's not unreasonable for me to wish to look the way I did in high school, is it? :)


(If any of you have experience with the Curves program, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Also, if
any of you out there have some good weight loss tips, I'd love to hear them as well.)

More new friends!

Beth, Will and Austin on Easter Sunday. They used to live next to my parents in Columbia and I babysat for them both when they were little babies. I can't believe how grown they are now, makes me feel so old! :)

Austin and Allen, one of Ryan's friends from high school/Clemson/law school. I think Austin thought Allen was a pretty cool guy!

Happy Easter!

Clemson Spring Game

Today was Clemson's Spring game in Death Valley and we were excited to get Austin in Memorial Stadium for the first time post-womb. We were also excited to spend some time outside in the beautiful weather with friends Ben & Tonya and their son Tyler, along with Ben's brother, Brian, and his son Bennett. With all the adorable babies to play with, I don't think I watched a single play of the game, but it was so nice to just be in Clemson again surrounded by friends, enjoying the gorgeous day.

Random picture time!!

Rolling over before Mommy can even get my clothes off! I love to roll...and being naked!

Waiting in line to see the Easter bunny!

Playing in the rocking chair.

I love my new Exersaucer!!

At daddy's game, see him pitching in the background?

Having fun in the backyard!

The magic show

Every morning when Austin wakes up I turn the TV on to Noggin or Nick Jr. mainly just for the background noise but also because Austin likes to look at the TV when I'm changing his diaper (and I like that he looks at it because it keeps him still and from rolling all over the place). I never just sit him in front of the TV unless I've got a Baby Einstein DVD in (which I only use in emergencies) because I believe that babies need lots of interactive play and I don't want to start an early TV habit, but I do turn it on so that he can hear all the sounds and music.

Lately I've started to notice that no matter what Austin is doing, as soon as the theme song from the Backyardigans comes on, he turns towards the TV and goes into a trance. Then once it's over he goes back to doing whatever it was he was doing. It doesn't matter if he's in the middle of a bottle, jumping in his jumperoo, or in my lap playing....it never fails that as soon as the show comes on he is glued!!

So today I DVR'd the show and started it up as soon as Austin began to get fussy and it worked like a charm! I have no idea what it is about that theme song that he likes so much, but lets just say that the Backyardigans CD is being delievered this week for those dreaded car rides where he won't calm down! They sing a lot of fun songs on the show that Austin also enjoys, but nothing has the same effect as the theme song. It's actually a pretty cute show and I find myself watching it sometimes when it's on. I even get the songs stuck in my head and sing them throughout the day. I even bought Austin a stuffed toy of one of the characters for Easter, a purple kangaroo named Austin, my favorite!

1st night away

This weekend, after much deliberation, I finally decided (on Friday) to drive down to Charleston the next day to celebrate Melanie's upcoming wedding and take part in her bachleorette party. They had been trying to convince me to go for weeks but I just couldn't commit until the last possible minute because I didn't know how I'd feel about leaving Austin over night for the first time. I finally realized that it would be good for me and Ryan because I would get some much needed adult time and he would get to spend some quality alone time with his son. I left early Saturday afternoon and was actually gone less than 24 hours because I woke up early on Sunday and was ready to drive back to see my guys. I enjoyed hanging out with my girlfriends and it was great catching up, but I couldn't help but think about my little buddy and wonder what him and daddy were doing the whole time. I was pleasantly surprised to return on Sunday to a happy, clean, dressed & well fed baby along with a proud and happy (to see me) husband. I'm so thankful to have such a great husband who encourages me, helps me and takes such good care of his little nugget! :)

*Trying to pack Austin in my suitcase to take with me!


*Me and Aaron (and the Bride-to-be in the background) enjoying a margarita at dinner.

*What Austin and I did when I got home!

New Friends!

This week Austin met 2 new friends, Teresa and Neal. They are both friends of mine and Ryan's from his law school days. Austin was so happy to have met these two great new friends, he loves meeting new people!

Making the switch

So, after 5.5 months of strictly breast milk, we have finally decided to make the switch to formula. I hated to do it and I was pretty depressed about it at first, but it is working out for the better and making things a little easier on us all. I would have liked to breastfeed for longer but my supply was getting so low and Austin's bottles kept getting bigger and bigger. I was having to pump 2-3 times just for one 7.5 oz. bottle and with an active 5.5 month old (and a mommy who didn't want to be confined to the house all day) it was getting increasingly hard to be tied down for 20 minutes every couple of hours. So, after we depleted our frozen supply it was finally time to give in to formula.

Well, let me just say, formula is a whole different ball game! First of all, finding the right one is a chore in itself. There are so many to choose from...milk based, soy based, hypoallergenic, lactose free and gentle formulas to name a few. We tried soy first, but after reading up on soy, decided to try the hypoallergenic, which Austin completely refused. Then we moved on to the lactose free and have stuck with that for now, but plan to try the gentle formula soon and see if that will work out. Austin has a milk allergy/sensitivity so that's making things a little bit more difficult I guess. So, here are my observations after starting formula:

1. First of all, formula is EXPENSIVE! It's at least $20/week and could be more depending on the formula you use.

2. The stuff stinks!! Breast milk was almost odorless which made meant that burps, gas and spit up were almost odorless as well. The smell of formula sometimes makes me want to gag!

3. It stains. Formula will stain clothing so I have to pay special attention to all of Austin's clothes/bibs/blankets/etc. and make sure to use Shout on all the spots before washing.

4. Mixed formula has to be refrigerated. Breast milk could sit at room temp. for several hours which was great when traveling. Now we have to carry around powder formula and a bottle of water for mixing when we go out.

5. Poopy diapers are a WHOLE different story! Breastfed babies usually have more frequent bowel movements and they don't really have an offensive odor. Formula poopy diapers are darker, thicker and 100 times more smelly!!! I'm not sure I'll ever convince Ryan to change another dirty diaper!

6. Gassy! Some types of formula get bubbly or foamy when mixed which can cause excess gas. Luckily I read a great little tip which was to add a few drops of Mylicon to each bottle to get rid of some of the bubbles.

7. Constipation. This is probably caused by the formula and solids combined, but my poor baby has a terrible time going #2 now and grunts and turns red when he has to go. The doctor's office told me to sprinkle pro biotic in his bottles to help and it has a little, but they still aren't happening as frequent as we would like.

So, just a note to all you expecting mommies out there...I am a huge advocate of breastfeeding and believe that EVERY new mom should at least try it, even if only for a few weeks. There is no doubting the amazing benefits, after all, it was God's intention for babies to be breastfed. Formula may be fine, but breast is the best! I'm very happy that I made it the amount of time that I did and only hope I can make it even longer the next time around!

This is what happens when daddy dresses me...

OK, just a little April Fools...this is actually mommy's fault. Austin drooled all over his shirt right before we were going to dinner and I grabbed the first thing I could find. It turned out to be a little too tight and as soon as we lifted him out of the car seat all the buttons popped and we couldn't get them to stay together the rest of the night. Luckily we were at a small restaurant near our house where there weren't many people so we just had fun with it!

Austin also sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time...for a total of 5 minutes. He started fussing as soon as our food came. This seems to happen everytime we sit down to eat...it's like clockwork! Any of you other mommies have this problem?? How do you entertain your kids at the dinner table?