How a morning can change in an instant!

Current Mood: Tired

Now that I have a short window of time to blog, I just HAD to tell this story before I went go to bed. I thought it gave a perfect example on how fast a morning can change from mild and quiet to chaotic in the manner of seconds!

The morning started off fine, nothing to big going on. Alex was sleeping in the guest room and Mia and I were hanging out in the livingroom watching her Disney Princess Movie. Things were quiet and mellow so I decided to give my Dad a quick call since we rarely get to talk long anymore due to the kids demands on me. Little did I know what was in store for me mins. after calling my Dad...

He answered the phone and it was literally seconds later did I hear Alex crying in the room. OH NO!! So much for my phone call. I knew Alex had to eat and though I have juggled the phone, Mia and feeding Alex before, I just had a feeling I wouldn't do so good this time around, so I hung up with my Dad. Good call on my behalf now that I think about it.

I went over to the room and picked up Alex. He was screaming hysterically... boy was he hungry. So I walked him to the living room, set up the pillows and all I needed to feed him and then got him all set. Things were going good for the first couple of seconds then Mia comes around and says "Oh No! Poopies" as she grabs her butt. OH NO!! Now I am stuck and I don't know what to do. Mia had not gone poopies in TWO days so I wasn't sure what was in store for me in that diaper, plus she was wearing her Snow White costume.. I didn't want her to get poop on it! On the other hand, Alex just started to eat and he was starving, not to mention my milk just started to let down which means if I took him off now it would go EVERYWHERE! What to do What to do!?!

So I decided to give Alex a few more seconds in hopes he would drain me enough so it wouldn't be to messy when I took him off. At the same time I kept Mia talking so she wouldn't decide to run off or worse sit down!

Then the time came.. I had to act fast!....

I quickly took Alex off and laid him on the couch. He was NOT happy about this and let out a HUGE scream and again was crying hysterically. I quickly ran over to Mia laid her on the ground and changed her diaper as fast as I could. Then I ran over to Alex, set him up again and started to feed him again. Phew!! I thought to myself, wow pretty cool I am pro. What I didn't know, however, was the worse was NOT over...

Just as I started to let my guard down I heard a HORRIBLE noise come from Alex's diaper! Thats right... he pooped too!! OH NO!!!!! and it was BIG! I didn't want him to have a blow out so I quickly took him off ... again!.... and laid him on the couch. Again, he wasn't happy but what made things worse is since I didn't get a chance to burp him either time I took him off he ended up spitting up TONS of milk all over himself and left a huge puddle on the couch! Our good couch too! NOOOOO!!!! I quickly sprang up and grabbed a face towel Mia had been playing with earlier and cleaned up the milk. Mia got mad that I used her towel but I quickly distracted her by running out of the room. She thought it was a game and started to chase me while "roaring". I grabbed a new diaper for Alex and ran back to him. Sure enough his diaper was PACKED! EWWW!! I quickly cleaned him up and got him all set up again and again started to feed him. Finally, I thought.... well nope it wasn't over. Not even a couple of mins later I saw Mia in the kitchen with her dress pulled up and she was grabbing at her diaper. I asked her whats wrong and she said "oh no poopies!" NOOOO!! Not again! Are you kidding me?!?!?!

This time I decided to let Alex finish eating and once he was done I checked Mia. Luckily it was a false alarm and there was nothing in her diaper. YAY!!!

Wow what a chaotic few mins. You see, you never know what will happen when you have two little ones. One min. you think you can rest and relax and before you know it.. all Heck breaks loose!! I am just glad that I handled it as good as I did otherwise EVERYONE would be in trouble! haha

*VIDEO* Alex in a diaper 11-28-10

*VIDEO* Alex doing tummy time and goes horribly wrong! 11-28-10

Brothers.....

Yes, Alex has a little brother.... well according to Mia! haha I just had to post a picture of Alex next to the notorious "baby" doll. This is Mia's baby and she tries to do all the things I do with Alex, to this baby. Where ever Alex goes, this baby goes... its really cute!

7 Weeks

Happy Saturday Everyone! Burrrrr!!!!!!!!! Its one COOOOLD morning! I am sitting here on the couch next to Alex. Hes all bundled up to the max, we have a fire going in the fireplace on one end of the livingroom and on the other we have the floor heater on and its still chilly!! YIKES! Hello Wintertime!

This week has been another eventful week. Not only did Alex celebrate his very first Thanksgiving but he finally got introduced to the torture of Mama and her camera. Yes, he suffered my wrath of dressing him up, posing him in numerous ways, and blinding him with the flash. It wasn't all for nothing though, I got some really cute pictures.

Hes smiling a TON more now and it doesn't take much for me to get him to smile. I just look at him sometimes and he flashes me that gummy smile. I LOVE IT! Hes cooing like crazy and really seems happy. Even Mia can get him to coo at her and smile, I love watching the two interact. Mia loves her little brother and already is his little protector. Whenever hes crying she makes sure I know about it and reminds me to give him the binky. She refuses to let me let him cry himself to sleep and make me "hold baby" and when she runs by him she always has to peek on him and make sure hes covered in his blanket. What a darling big sister she is.

Well with it being cold, I can tell his little body has been fighting off a cold for awhile now. Mia was sick with a cold most of last week and so was Adrian. I had touches of it and so did Alex. Whenever it gets to cold in his area he starts getting really congested, sneezes and coughs alot. I tried sucking out his nose with the nose thing but nothing comes out. The congestion is deep in his sinuses and throat. Poor little guy often times wakes up coughing or choking. So we have been keeping him extra bundled and have fires going on almost 24/7.

He had another first this week, and it has happened more than once. He no longer cries during his baths!!! YAY! This makes the whole experience much better for the both of us. I also let him soak longer since he now seems to enjoy the warm water. I can even wash his hair! (well what hair he has). The only time he cries is when I have him back in the room and am dressing him. Thats when he gets cold and cries, but he doesn't even cry when I pull him out of the tub and put the towel around him. What a big boy he is!

I can tell he is really becoming attached to me (what do I mean by "becoming" he has been that way since the hospital!) but what I mean is more so than before. He follows me everywhere with his eyes and if I am gone to long he will cry out to me. Not a normal cry but like a semi whine cry trying to get my attention. When I come back he will give me the biggest smile and charm me into staying with him. So needless to say he has me wrapped around his tiny finger already. This isn't easy since Mia has me wrapped around her finger too. But so far I have been able to balance the two.... barely!!!

He is getting much bigger now and is finally grown out of his newborn clothes and most of his 0-3 months. He is up to 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers!! We might even bump him up to 3 soon since he had a blow out the other day and almost another a few hours later. But with him growing also has come with new issues. He no longer goes long periods of times between feedings, even at night. He used to be 3-4 hours in the day and 4-5 hours at night, but now hes regressed to 1.5-2 during the day and 3 at night. Thats not a good thing for Mama. My sleep has drastically been effected by this but I am trying to get through it. Its the life of a breastfeeding Mama I guess. Another huge issue that has come up is the fact hes eating more and I find myself running out of milk before hes done. This doesn't make him to happy and makes me feed more frequently. I've tried everything to up my supply but its still not enough. I am afraid hes headed towards formula supplementation soon. I really don't want to see that happen and am trying everything to keep my milk up. Hopefully I will find a resolution soon.

The "green poop" issue has finally gotten better. Infact its been a few days since he had green poop. I am not really sure what caused his green poop nor what stopped it. All I know is that its gone and I am HAPPY! that stuff stunk ... BAD!

With each passing week he has become more and more aware of his surroundings. He hates being alone and sleeps better when he is out in the livingroom with us. Even if that means sleeping through Mia's screaming and playing. If we leave him in the room by himself he will wake up ALL the time.. MAD! On the flip side of his awareness is that he is noticing toys now. When I place him on the baby play mat he will look all around and become interested in the toys dangling in front of him. He will even bat at them, but I think thats by accident. But he likes to see them move around.

Well thats about all for now. Its about that time where Mia wakes up and I need to prep her breakfast and grab something to eat while Alex is napping. So I am off to start my COLD COLD Day!

Alex interacts with toys

Happy Thanksgiving! Although we celebrated our own little Turkey Day yesterday, today was the official holiday. Since Alex is still to young to travel, we decided that I would stay home with him while Adrian and Mia went to the Cardoso Family Thanksgiving in San Diego. I was slightly bummed that we would be separated on the holiday but we had our little day yesterday so that made things easier, besides Mia was in one of her famous "defiant" moods that it was almost nice to have her get out for awhile.

So Alex and I stayed home together. He has been pretty good for the most part, but he did have a diaper blow out earlier that didn't make him to happy. He is all settled down now and sleeping. With all that aside, a BIG thing happened today! He interacted (well sort of) with his first toys!!!

I had him laying down in the baby floor mat/toy thing that my Brother and Sis-in-law gave us. I had some of Mia's old baby toys dangling from the top just below his chest. Some rattled and made noise so I was playing with him. He was all intrigued by the toys and the mat and kept looking all around, however, what really shocked me was he started to hit the little dangling rattle sun! (One of Mia's all time favorite toys at his age) He did it over and over and when it rattled he looked all shocked. I know he was just flaying his arms but still he was able to hit it! Thats when I noticed how much he is into using his hands alot. Mia was a total foot baby, she loved to kick kick kick like crazy but Alex's isn't like that. He only kicks when he is about to cry or is mad! However, I do see him using his hands and arms alot. Maybe hes a hand baby!

Anyways, I had fun hanging out with him. Now its time for me to take nap while I still can and hes still asleep. I just had to write a quick blog about his special day and post some pics!

Our little Thanksgiving 2010

Current mood: Stuffed

Wow what a day! We celebrated our little family Thanksgiving. Yes, we celebrate it a day early but thats our tradition in our little family. The reason for that is, most Thanksgivings Adrian either worked or we had to travel out of town to see family. There was no way we could have our own little Tday AND do all of that so we bumped it up a day early. It isn't so bad, it really works out for our family, plus we get a jump start on some good ol' food!!

I am the one who cooks the turkey and prepares ALL the food. So last night I prepared the bird and popped him in the oven at 7am. My goal time to eat was 2-3 but we didn't get it out until 4! I think I left it in there a bit to long, it wasn't burnt or anything but it was so tender that the wings fell off when I tried to transfer it to the turkey plate. Not only that, we couldn't get it out of the foil holder at all! I literally had to use two giant soup spoons and try to pry it out as Adrian held on to the sides of it and we tossed it on the plate... literally!! I was kind of upset since I wanted it all intact so the kids could pose in front of it. So Adrian put one of the wings back as best as he could on the side that looked the best. The ugly side had a missing wing and the leg was falling off too! It was a disaster!

There was so much running around to do to get everything ready and the table set. Luckily for me, Mia was taking a nap and so was Alex so it gave me some time kid free. However, just as I was about to finish and get Mia up, Alex woke up. I knew he would be hungry so there would only be a short amount of time to take his picture in front of the turkey before he would get cranky so we quickly ran him to the table. I held him as Adrian took pictures, but Alex wanted no part of it and was grumpy the whole time. Soon he was screaming and we had to put the camera away. I then fed him while Adrian got Mia up. After Alex was fed it was Mia's turn for pictures.

To my surprise she actually did EXTREMELY well and I was able to get some really cute pictures. She didn't smile though but thats ok Mia NEVER smiles for pictures. Poor Alex was screaming again during this time. I wanted to get one family picture so I grabbed Alex and tried to sooth him as fast as I could. I had the camera on the tripod and I put the self timer on and ran Alex over in my arms and posed as fast as I could. I did manage to get a couple of family pictures so that was good.

Finally it was time to eat. We set Mia up at her little feeding chair and she got all the fixings and some juice. We said our special thanks (even Mia said "Thank you") and we chowed down. I didn't think she would eat any of her food (though she did like my Turkey and stuffing last year) but she actually did! She even tried some mashed potatoes which she never likes! In the end she only ate the stuffing and turkey but she did try the potatoes and corn and for that I am proud of her.

Alex on the other hand was crying hysterically. I didn't want to lay him down alone in the other room and I knew he would just scream all through dinner so I decided to pick him up and hold him while I ate. He didn't mind that one bit. Once in my arms he quieted down and didn't make a peep during dinner. In a way I am glad it worked out that way because he was apart of our Thanksgiving Dinner though he couldn't eat anything. All four of us were at the table and I was so happy even though it wasn't easy balancing him with one hand and trying to feed myself with the other... Turkey ended up flying all over the place.

After I was done eating, I fed Alex again then zoomed off to Target to buy Mia some dress shoes for tomorrow. Her and Daddy are going to San Diego to see her Cardoso family. Alex and I will be staying home and resting. He is a bit to little to travel that far and so I don't want to take him out.

Overall our thanksgiving was WONDERFUL! I can't believe how fast our little family is growing. I remember making Thanksgiving dinners for just Adrian and myself and now we have two little ones at the table. I love my little family and am so thankful for each and everyone of of them..

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trying to take Pre-Thanksgiving pictures

You know me, always taking pictures of my kiddies and trying to capture the perfect one... well I just had to post some of the ones I took of Alex. It will be his first Thanksgiving and I wanted a good picture to capture the moment... after taking TONS I finally got my wish! It is the very first one in this post.. the rest I just couldn't resist posting haha

*VIDEO* Mia and Alex on the Couch 11-24-10

I thought this was too funny NOT to record. Mia was trying so hard to color on the couch where Alex was laying. Every now and then, Alex would move and his foot would cover Mia's paper and she would get all concerned and upset. Finally Mia just told me pick up the baby to get rid of him haha

Finally I captured a Smile

YAY!!!! I finally captured a Smile on camera!!! Well a few of them. I am now becoming a pro at making him smile. I stroke his face and then do this high pitched little noise that Mia LOVED as a baby, and he loves it too. It never fails, I can get a smile out of him!

Little Heart Broken Mia

Current Mood: Sympathetic

Sigh..my little Mia. At times shes running all over the place trying to conquer the world. Nothing can stop her or get in her way. Other times shes sensitive and her little bubble can be burst so easily. Today was another one of those moments... poor little Mia.

I had Alex sitting up against the couch cushion and was taking pictures of him. Mia noticed and wanted me to take pictures of her too. So I took some of her (even though her mouth was covered in blueberries), some of him, and some with both. Mia was all excited and really liked taking pictures for once (she usually doesn't like her picture taken). What made her even more excited was the baby sitting on the couch. She wanted to sit closer to him and eventually got enough courage to sit directly next to him. (She still tends to shy away from physical contact with her brother). I thought to myself, AWESOME! now I can get some really good shots of both of them together... WRONG!

That is when Mia got alittle too excited and looked over at her brother and said "eye!" and literally poked Alex in the eye just as I took a picture! I quickly put the camera down and scolded Mia not to touch "baby eye!" It was at that point that her little world came crashing down. I didn't notice it right away, but when I took the next picture it was hard not to notice.

She quickly began to pout, her little lip curled down, she put her head down and tears just started streaming down her cheeks. She didn't cry out loud but instead did a sort of wimper. She was crushed. I quickly tried to comfort her and console her but I couldn't. It literally took about 5 mins before I could snap her out of it. During that Alex just sat there and watched. Finally after she perked up she said "baby eye ... cry" and thats when I knew that she was not upset that I scolded her but upset that she hurt her baby brother. I then brought the baby over to her to show her he was ok and that made her happy again.

Little Mia, she really does love her brother otherwise she wouldn't have cared so much about poking his eye.

Hes supposed to be going the OTHER way

Good Morning! Man what another tiring day and its only 9am!!! Well ever since Alex was born I have been looking forward to him getting bigger so his feedings will be more spread apart which means more time to recover between feedings and hopefully getting a little extra rest. After the second week things looked hopeful, he started to average 4 hours between feedings (mostly at night) and sometimes reach 5! I was so happy, as you can imagine. Well now hes going the other way and I don't know why.

For the past few days now hes been needing to eat sooner and sooner. Now he averages 2 hours during the day, 3 at night and sometimes 4 if I am lucky. I don't know what caused the change other than maybe a growth spurt? I am starting to doubt that alittle because growth spurts are only supposed to last a couple of days, this has been going on longer than that. Also, Adrian has noticed (when he feeds him 1-2 times a week) that at night he can down a 4 oz bottle like nothing and looks like he can eat some more!! Uh-Oh! Also, when I reviewed Mia's blogs when she was his age she was already up to 6 oz! (granted she was formula + breastfed) Scary!!! And when I pump I am lucky if I get 4oz but thats only if its the first thing in the morning, forget about getting that much at all the rest of the day. So with that, I am thinking maybe he just needs to eat more, however, I am not able to provide for him.

This scares me because that is the whole reason for my downfall in breastfeeding Mia. Not producing enough milk, and as time went on I just couldn't keep up anymore and had to quit before I was ready to. I am praying this is not the case with Alex. My goal is to breastfeed until he is at least on solids (6 months) but I don't know anymore. I am losing more and more sleep AGAIN, and I am constantly feeding him which ties me up (literally) and I can't tend to Mia.

I am not sure what to do. I don't want to resort to formula just yet because of all the bad experiences we had with formula and Mia, but I also don't want to starve my little guy either.

I need a break... BAD!

Sigh... so I don't know. Hopefully my body will step it up a bit if it is indeed a lack of milk abundance ... OR his growth spurt will end soon! I am so drained!

*VIDEO* Alex sleeping in his boppie 11-22-10

I have a feeling today is going to be one of "those" days

Current Mood: Dizzy

I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling today is going to be one of those classic challenging days. This weekend we didn't do to much, actually stayed indoor due to the storms but I am still exhausted. Adrian fed Alex at night and gave me some extra rest but when I woke up I still felt as drained as I did when I went to bed 5 hours before! My head has that floaty feeling and I feel dizzy, achy and tired. I don't feel rested at all and whats worse is the day has just begun.

Adrian caught Mia's cold so hes been sick all weekend. I can't wake him up early today if I need him because he has work today and hes sick. Alex has been alright... hes been waking up here and there so I can't nap before Mia wakes up, and Mia woke up crying at 7:30am! Luckily, I think shes back to sleep now. I know once Mia gets broken sleep she is a handful to say the least so I am trying to prepare for that.

I am so tired that I have zero energy to cook Mia breakfast. Usually I can force myself to get up and cook her, her eggs, pancakes get her fruit washed and cut and milk poured, but seriously right now I can't. I don't know what I am going to feed her this morning.

Ugh! This is so hard, I am so beyond tired... this is worse than being overworked in college and worse than when Mia was a newborn. I feel I could drop at any time now....

Well wish me luck on this morning, hopefully my prediction is wrong... but I doubt it

Bonding more with Mama

I have noticed that he is becoming really aware of things now, and one of those things is me! YAY! I can get him to really smile now and coo at me from just talking to him. (He hasn't done this with Daddy yet and somewhat does it with Mia) I think its the cutest thing in the world and makes our little special "Mama/baby only" time in the morning (before Mia wakes up) even more fun. The only problem is he also doesn't like me to leave him. Sometimes he will smile extra or coo and act cute so I can't leave. Only 1 month and he already knows how to keep Mama around... this is bad because sometimes I need to tend to Mia and he won't let me go. His cuteness is my weakness!!

Also, sometimes when he is crying in the room and I come in to comfort him he will sometimes calm down to the sound of my voice as I approach. He is really starting to recognize me from far away and settles down with me even more than he did before. It really melts my heart.

I love my little man! The more he smiles at me the more I feel like I am a good Mama and I make him happy.

His First Cry-Free Bath!

YAY! It finally happened, and alot sooner than I expected. He had his first cry-free bath today! What is that you ask? Well I gave him a bath tonight and it was the first time in Alex history that he didn't cry! Not once! Not even when I washed his hair! Infact, while I was bathing him he even cooed and smiled at me! I think we are making some progress.

He didn't even cry when I took him out of the bath and wrapped him up in his shark towel. He didn't start to cry until I put his diaper on, then he didn't stop again until I fed him. Ah well... but still his bath went GREAT! YAY!!! My little clean boy!

*VIDEO* Alex hanging out in the napper 11-21-10

Its Freezing!!!

Its been so COLD in our house lately. We have two storms hitting us and its dropping the temp. faster than we can bring it up. Poor Alex is feeling it too, when it gets to cold he starts to cough, sneeze and gets congested. I am trying my best to keep him warm! Time for Daddy to start another fire!

6 Weeks!

Good Morning! Happy Saturday! Alex is 6 weeks old today! Almost a full month and a half! Wow! He is sleeping next to me right now in the pack n play out here in the living room so I am trying to be extra quiet and type as softly as I can. Its been REALLY cold lately and last night was the worst because of a storm blowing in. It was so cold that I thought Alex caught a cold because he kept sneezing in his sleep and sounded really congested. I was all worried and literally bundled him up using 3 blankets and his warm jammies and socks but it didn't help. It didn't go away until Daddy heated up the living room with the fireplace. Even our house heater wasn't enough. Now hes all warm and toasty, hopefully he will stay like that and not catch his sister's cold!

This week was lots of fun. Grandpa Pizano was down for a visit for the week so him and Alex had lots of bonding time... when Mia allowed it. Grandpa even got to feed him a bottle at night! He is only the second person ever to feed Alex a bottle (Daddy is the first). He did really well too. Grandpa soloed him a few times too when I left for a doctor's visit a couple of times as well. One thing that Alex did to Grandpa that wasn't too good was he pooped on him... yes AGAIN! Sigh.. little Alex the pooping machine! haha

After pooping on Grandpa again, and a day before on Daddy (again!) we decided to graduate him to stage 2 diapers! I am still in shock over that. Mia didn't wear 2's until she was way older! We had no choice though, the blow outs were happening too frequently. So even though the diapers are so big on him that they come up way past his belly button they do manage to keep it in. We haven't tried Huggies though, we never seem to have luck with those and him. Guess he wants to be a full fledge pamper kid too, just like his big sister.

He is becoming more and more aware as the weeks go by. I can talk to him and he will look at me and smile and coo (it takes some work to get him to do that but he will) but I never seen him take to someone so well as he does with his big sis Mia! He literally lights up, calms down and is always watching what shes is doing. It is the cutest thing to see, especially since Mia loves him so much and loves to talk to him.

His hair?!?! Where is it going?! My little man is losing his hair on top. Its getting thinner and thinner and now there is hardly any! I am not sure if this is just natural or if its my fault. I know its my fault to an extend because I treated his scalp for cradle cap and scrubbed a bit too much (no not to hard, I said too much) and some fell out. I feel so bad for that and I hope it goes back soon. The rest of his head is growing lots of hair, if anything he will look like hes balding for a bit then grow a mullet by the time his top hair grows out again. Looks like he will be getting a hair cut sooner than later if that happens haha

I also had my final OB check up this week! YAY! I got the green light to exercise again and I can't wait to do it. Right now I can't because I am way to tired and Alex's feeding schedule won't permit me yet, but soon! Very soon! and it can't come soon enough, I am gaining my weight back NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! The lowest I hit was 163 and now I am back at 172!!! YIKES! I really need to start walking or something... QUICK!

Mia is really starting to get into sharing with Alex and when I rolled out a play mat that I got from my Brother and Sis-in-law, and put Alex in it, Mia had to get in it too. At first I thought she just wanted to hog it and take it away from Alex but that wasn't true. As soon as I tried to take the baby out when he was crying she insisted that I put the baby back where he was, which was right next to her. I thought that was the cutest thing ever... she really does like her little brother.

Well that about does it for the week. I would write more but I am so tired and I want to get some rest before Alex or Mia wake up. Once that happens and the day officially starts, it doesn't stop again until Mia goes to bed at 9! Talk about LOOOONG days! But so worth it, I Love my kids so much!

Battle with Cradle Cap

Ugh! Cradle Cap again! I battled it with Mia and now its Alex's turn. I noticed it coming on over a week ago and was hoping with some baths and shampoo that it would go away. I didn't get so lucky and it soon got out of control. I felt so bad, my little mans head was all scaly and rough to the touch. Poor little guy. Something HAD to be done.

When Mia had cradle cap, NOTHING seemed to take it away, not even baby oil. Over time it just vanished but it took almost a year. I didn't want that to happen to Alex too, especially since he has so little hair to begin with.

I researched again and again everyone recommended baby oil or pure olive oil. I do cook with olive oil but I wasn't sure if it was the right kind, I didn't want to put the wrong kind on his tiny head and end up with even bigger problems. So I went to the store and bought some Johnson & Johnson's Baby Oil with Vitamin E.

So when Mia went down for a nap and I would have no distractions I decided to give him a treatment. He HATES when you wash or brush his hair so I waited until he was in a deep sleep on his boppie. I managed to massage some oil into his head and I waited about 10 mins for it to really soak in. Then I took his tiny baby brush and got to work. I gently scrubbed his little head while he slept. I thought I was doing some good process until I noticed something. To my horror I noticed some tiny chunks of his baby hair falling out! NOOOOOOO!!!! He hardly has hair as it is! I quickly inspected his head... no bald patches but still there were chunks missing. I decided to stop the brushing and just deal with what was left (alot). In my eyes I rather see a scaly scalp than a bald patchy one! haha

I woke him up soon after and popped him into the bath. He didn't mind the bath until I washed his hair. I had to really wash it good to get all the oil out. Luckily it only took a few dumps of water from a large cup to get all his hair clean.

After his bath I got him all set up and fed him. Once he was asleep again (this time on my chest) I inspected his head. He still had some scales and when I picked at them with my nail they came right off! WOW! So I spent the next hour gently picking off about 90% of his scales and now his head is almost totally free of cradle cap! YAY! His hair even became softer and poofier AND his head is so soft again! I still have a small area to work on but I don't want to over do it. I am giving his tiny head a rest.

Well I hope the treatment has helped, I don't think I want to do it again so whatever I did today will just have to do. Hopefully it doesn't come back!

Sharing with Alex

Current Mood: Happy

I thought it was so cute that Mia and Alex were sharing a toy together today. My Brother and Sis in Law gave me my baby niece's old baby mat. It has two bars that hang over the top and you can dangle toys on it. Since Alex is becoming more aware of his surroundings I decided to set it up.

I had him laying in it when I got Mia down from a nap. She went right for it and got even more excited that her baby brother was already inside it. She jumped right in and had fun sitting next to her little brother. Whenever he would lose his binky she would make me put it back so he would stop crying and continue to lay next to her. Then when I tried to get him out of it, she cried and insisted I put back back down next to her. She didn't want him to leave haha.

It was too cute to see them "play" together.

My Final Check-Up

Today was a big day for me. I went in for my FINAL pregnancy check up. It was my 5 week post partum check up and it was at Wildomar at 10am!! Talk about early. Luckily, my Dad decided to stay one more day to help us out so Adrian wouldn't have to get up extra early.

So once Alex was all fed and settled I headed off to my appointment. I really wanted Adrian, Mia, and Alex to join me but it was way to early. Once I got there I checked in and they took me back pretty quickly.

The nurse recognized me right away and asked where my husband and daughter where. I told them they were back home and I had escaped! haha She laughed. I told her about Alex and we shared some common breastfeeding horror stories haha Once she took my vitals she took me back to the examination room and had me get ready for the doctor.

My OB came in and gave me a big hug and congratulated me on Alex's birth. She asked me how the 10-10-10 date went and I told her we didn't get it. Alex wanted 10-09! hahd She said "Oh NO! and I was thinking about you all day on the 10th.. oh well" we laughed a bit. She examined me and said I look great and got the green light to exercise again! YAY! She also put me on some birth control so Alex's doesn't get dethroned haha We chatted a bit more and she sent me on my way. I am not due back for another 2 years! WOW! So she gave me a goodbye hug and that was that. It was a bittersweet moment for me since I know I won't be back... at least not to see her or that office again. Once we move back to San Diego later this year, I will have to switch doctors. I am a bit sad.. I have had her as an OB for 5 years and she has seen me all through Mia and Alex's pregnancies. She is a great doctor and I am so happy I was her patient.

After getting dressed I checked out and the nurse handed me all the things I needed and I headed home.

So I got my clean bill of health. I am all back to normal now and I have no more check ups! YAY!!! I can finally sit back and relax a bit (healthy wise) so that is really cool, I've been in and out of the doctor's office so much the past 3 years its nice to finally have a break!

Well Alex is calling me I gotta go I just watched to write alittle something on my special day...

He Graduates Again!

Alex has graduated to size 2 diapers! I can't believe it! Mia was no where near his age when she graduated and already hes in 2. What a growing boy I have on my hands. The decision was pretty easy though, he was having back to back blow outs and last night was the last straw...

After his 3am feeding I handed him back to Adrian to watch him for the next three hours while I slept. As I settled back in bed and was just about to doze off I was woken by Adrian coming back in the room. I opened my eyes and saw him carrying Alex's blanket (my favorite blue one) and said he had ANOTHER blow out! It got all over Alex's shirt and blanket! OH NO!!! So I jumped out of bed and took it straight to the washer. I soaked it over night and luckily the yellow stains came out.

Today he was back in size 1 and almost had ANOTHER blow out... so thats it for 1's hes up to 2's now. What a shame, we still have so many newborn and size 1 diapers! but using those up is not worth the blow outs! haha Little Alex my pooping machine!!

2 Hour Glucose Test

UGH! I am here yet AGAIN! And fasting… UGH! Darn that Gestational Diabetes!!!

Well after having Alex I was told that I would have to do another 2hr glucose test 4-6 weeks later. Talk about news I didn’t want to hear, however, it isn’t all bad. It is good for me, it makes sure that all traces of the gestational diabetes is gone and if it isn’t I can do things to help it early on. However, it is also bad as well since I need to fast 12 hours before the early morning test… Nooooooo!!!! I was a bit concerned because I am breastfeeding and not only do I suddenly STARVE after a feeding but I am concerned about my milk supply too. Well I have to do what I have to do and hopefully I can recover from this quickly and Alex won’t be too affected.

I started the fast last night at 7pm. Talk about HARD not only did I get hungry about an hour later, but I had cooked up a HUGE feast all day so there was food EVERYWHERE. I cooked fresh beans, rice, soup, pot roast and cake! Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea since the smell alone was pure torture! But I made it though. I fed Alex 2 more times and after each feeding I fell asleep pretty fast so I didn’t have to stay awake and feel hungry very long.

My Dad stayed with us an extra day so I could do this test early morning and get it over with. He is such a Saint! He stayed home with Alex and Mia while I went to the lab. I thought about feeding Alex a bit early so he would be full while I was gone but I was still concerned that it might not be enough and he would be hungry while I was gone. Then my Dad had a great idea. He suggested that I pump instead of waking Alex up early, since he was sound asleep on the couch, that way it could buy me some more time in between feedings while I was gone. In other words, my Dad would feed him a fresh bottle while I was gone, whenever Alex decided to wake up, and I wouldn’t have to RUSH home to feed him again right away. GREAT IDEA! So that’s what I did. After getting 3 oz I zoomed out the door and here I am at the lab.

When I got here there was a bit of a wait so I didn’t start my 2 hr mark until recently. They took my blood then made me drink one of those dextrose drinks. This time it was Cola flavored! I have never had that type before, I have had the Orange flavored and Sprite flavored. It didn’t taste to bad either. Sort of like Coke, too bad I don’t really care for coke but it could be worse.

So I still have 40 more mins. Not sure what I am going to do to kill time, guess catch up on some blogs while I wait. I am sure I will have a update on this one in a little while… if I can stay awake!

20 mins in….
THIS IS HORRIBLE! ……….. that is all

They let me home early WHOOHOO!

*VIDEO* Alex falling asleep in my arms 11/15/10

My little sleepy baby, so full, so happy, so sleeeeepy

Alex: 5 weeks

He got Grandpa.. AGAIN!

I know a few blogs ago, I called Alex my little "Eating Machine" but now hes also my little "Pooping machine!" He tagged Daddy yesterday and today he got Grandpa! OH NO!!

I was cooking in the kitchen while Grandpa was holding him in his arms. Alex was being a little fussy and squirmy but we couldn't figure out why.... our answer came soon after. All of a sudden I heard my Dad say "Angie!!! Did you hear that?!" with an alarming voice. I looked up and listened, but I wasn't sure what I was listening for.... earthquake? jet? rumbling? I told my Dad I didn't hear anything and he said "Hes having a blow out!" He described the poop almost like a jet engine getting ready to take off or like back firing! My Dad said he has never heard any baby so LOUD before, it was like brrrrrrrrttt... POW POW... brrrrrrrttt.... (other bodily noises) POW! brrr... POW! He said it happened three times and he kept going and going. When my Dad got up to change Alex, sure enough Alex had tagged up his shirt! OH NO!!!

Grandpa ran to the changing room with him, I quickly turned off the flame on the pan I was cooking with and Mia and I ran to join and help Grandpa. I changed Alex while Grandpa changed his shirt.

Poor Grandpa, all he wants to do is spend some quality time with his Grandson and Alex decides to poop on him.... AGAIN! I have a sneaking feeling that I might be next in line... Ugh Oh!

5 Weeks Old

My little man is 5 weeks old! I can't believe it, I know I keep saying it but its so true... time is already flying by so fast!

This week has been pretty fun, we have had lots of company. The week started off with his Grandma Rebecca here which was lots of fun, and ended with his Grandpa Pizano here. Talk about lots of Grandparent bonding time! He was on his good behavior and was cuddled constantly! Grandpa even got to feed him a bottle one night! My Dad has been only the second person to ever feed Alex a bottle and he did so well... both of them.

Another big thing happened this week, not only did he turn 1 month old! but we went on our very first shopping trip together, just the two of us. This is HUGE especially since Mia was WAY older by the time I took her out for the first time alone. We had fun though, he slept 90% of the time and only woke up on the ride home. What a little angel he is, I can't wait to take him out again.

Alex sure has become an eating machine!!! I am slowly starting to struggle in keeping up with him. Luckily this special tea I have been drinking has helped keep my supply up a bit. When he eats bottles he is up to 4oz!!! YIKES!!! My growing little man! He is also pooping ALOT too!!! He even pooped on Daddy!!!

Overall the week has been good. The only issue that I have been battling with lately is getting rid of his green poop!! I am not sure what is causing it, since there are so many different reasons for having green poop, hopefully I will find the cure soon. YIKES! hes crying I gotta go!

Alex Pooped on Daddy!!!!

Oh No!!! It happened again! This time Alex's victim was his Daddy!

He had been sleeping in Mia's room during the afternoon and when he woke up to eat around the early evening, Daddy went to the room to get him. I was downstairs on the computer. Adrian then came downstairs with the crying baby in his arms. "I think he needs a diaper change" he said as he stood next to me. Alex was fussing a bit then we heard it...

BRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPP..... a gross poopie sound. Uh-Oh. I turned and looked at Alex and thats when I saw it. Adrian shirt was covered and I mean COVERED in yellow watery mess! "He pooped on you!!!" I jumped up and noticed that he had not only pooped on his Daddy but the floor too!!! I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a bunch of paper towels to help Adrian clean up and to clean the floor. By then Alex was screaming. I grabbed Mia so she wouldn't step in it, and handed her to my Dad. I then ran off and got his bath ready... Daddy laid Alex on a nearby box while he cleaned himself up.

When I got his bath stuff ready I popped him in the bath and got him all nice and clean again. Daddy took a shower soon after...

Phew what a mess! literally... I am just glad it wasn't me!! haha

Little Alex, the eating machine

It is official, I have another eating machine on my hands! Alex did a first last night... he ate 4 oz!!!! I couldn't believe it when Daddy told me.

Last night I was so tried and dragging so bad that Daddy decided to jump in and help even though he had little to no sleep either. So he fed him a bottle last night. Luckily I have been pumping extra so I had a small milk stash in the fridge already.

In the morning when Adrian was turning over the "Alex morning shift" to me he said that he fed Alex the 2 oz I had stored and he chugged it down like nothing. When it was gone be blew up and wanted more!!! So Daddy quickly ran to the kitchen and warmed up another 2 oz bottle and Alex quickly chugged that down too!!! After he was done with that, he was finally content!

I am not too too surprised since I have noticed hes been eating more and more each day. I am still able to keep up with him but it isn't easy! My little growing boy, hes showing signs of being a little eating machine too just like his Big Sis was at his age! Soon I will start having to sing him the song I made up for Mia...

"Little Aaaaalex the eating machinnneee...

Little Aaaaaalex the eating machinnnneee....

When you don't get your milk you think EVERYONE is mean....

Little Aaaaalex the eating machinnneee..."

Grandpa gets to feed him

Tonight was a special night for Grandpa Pizano and his little Grandson. He got to feed him a bottle! What is so special about this you ask? LOTS of things. Alex is a fully breastfed baby, so that means he rarely EVER sees a bottle. Infact last night was only bottle #4 since he has been born! Adrian has been the only other person to bottle feed Alex. So tonight was the first time someone besides Adrian fed him and that lucky person was Grandpa! YAY!

I have been so overly exhausted. Though we have been getting onto a pretty good night routine between the three of us (Alex, Adrian and myself) I am still lacking rest. So when it came time for Adrian to take this test he needs to take for his work at 8am I knew I would need help since I would have to solo Alex for a full night! (Something I have yet to do alone!) So I called for some help and of course the first on my list of rescuers was MY Daddy!

So Grandpa drove in mid afternoon. Mia got some good play time in with him and Alex was being a teeny bit fussy. So no rest for Mama (what else is new! haha) By the early evening I was dragging... BAD! My head was dizzy, my eyes burn and I was a mess. So when I asked my Dad if he would mind feeding Alex at night he jumped at the chance to not only help me out but to bond with his little guy too! I had some stored milk in the fridge so I gave him a run down on what to do and expect. Adrian offered up his advice too since he knows how Alex is on that shift. So once I fed him one last time I ran off to bed.

Ahhh........ sleeeeep! So nice. Unfortunately, I couldn't sleep in as long as I wanted too since I got engorged and was in pain.. Sigh... So I got up so I could at least pump and feel better. When I went downstairs (about 5am) I found my Dad asleep on the couch and Alex asleep in his boppie on the other couch! So cute! I grabbed my pumping supplies and went upstairs and started to pump.

Then I heard Alex crying! OH NO!!! I went downstairs to help and found my Dad standing in the livingroom. By the time I got there Alex was already back asleep! I asked my Dad how last night went and he said really well. No complaints. He said Alex woke up right on time, he fixed the bottle, he ate, burped, they hung out for about 45 mins then he went back to sleep! YAY! The one thing that cracked me up though is when my Dad said he changed his diaper it was a "pumpkin mess!" HAHAHA classic! That is true, his poopies can look like watery pumpkin mess! Well since Alex went back to sleep my Dad shooed me back to bed, or at least back to pumping. He went to bed himself as well and here I am.

I am so glad last night went well, I really needed the extra rest and I am happy Alex treated his Grandpa good too! I wonder what today will hold for us!?

1 Month Old Today!

Current mood: Proud

Today is a BIG Milestone for little Alex. He is 1 month old today! My little man is growing up so fast. Though time seems to be at a stand still when I am overly tired and just trying to get through the day, in retrospect it is already zooming by. It literally feels like I just left the hospital and now hes 1 whole month old! Judging by how fast Mia is growing I need to really take the time and really enjoy my little one while he is still soft, fuzzy and little! Yes, I love his little fuzzy head... his hair is so soft I just love to rub my cheek on it.

This month has been a great month, lots of things happening and lots of changes. Though I would love to go into detail of every thing again, I cannot. Time is never on my side and as I write this I am on borrowed time since Mia will be waking up any min. I can only write blogs in the small amount of time between Alex going to sleep after a feeding and Mia waking up for the day. I am already behind scheduled so I have to speed things up a bit. I have decided that I will formate his monthly reviews the same way as Mia's. Just as a small bulletpoint summary... if you would like to read more detail the full blogs of that event are posted on here.

Well with 1 month down and many more to go, I would like to say, that I am so beyond happy. I couldn't be happier (or more tired) than I am right now. I truly feel blessed and that my little family is complete. I am happiest most during the rare moments where I can hold Alex and have Mia cuddle next to me on the couch. That is the most precious, greatest, most awesome timeever. I love my babies!

Summary:
He was born!! (obviously haha)

Had jaundice for a couple of weeks but finally got over it

Got his first present from his Big Sister (a flower sticker on his hand)

Had his first bath in the baby tub

Mama took him ALONE to a check up for the first time (TWICE)

Drank from his first bottle (so far only had 3 since he was born)

He is VERY picky about his binky's he only likes 1 type, a blue one from NUK, we have tried others but he rejects them

Had a LONG visit with his Grandpa Pizano and later Grandma Rebecca

Watched his first World Series and his team WON! GO GIANTS!

He is a peeing machine, though now Mama and Daddy are getting wise on what to watch out for before it happens... but yes we still get peed on at times

Had trouble with the newborn size Huggies (too big) and Pampers (darn exploding crystals)

Graduated to size 1 diapers (pampers only so far)

Had numerous poopie blow outs .. YUCK

Got his name T-Rex from the way he insists on keeping his hands close to his chin and together

His belly button fell off

Took pictures at a studio with his Big Sister Mia

Went to the pumpkin patch for the first time

Celebrated his first Halloween

Trick-or-Treated at the mall for the first time

He pooped on his Grandpa Pizano

We had our first family outing to a restaurant

Took a bath in the sink (didn't go so well and won't happen again! haha)

He smiled while awake for the first time

He LOVES to sleep in his boppie

Went shopping with Mama for the first time (ALONE) and to Babies R Us


Feedings: I am still solely breastfeeding so I am not sure how much he is actually eating. However, when I pump I manage to get 2.5 oz out so I am guessing hes up around there. He eats an average of every 3 hours, however, at night or during certain rare times during the day he can go up to 4-5 hrs between feedings. He is a great eater and I really don't have many problems with him. All the latching problems that would pop up here and there are pretty much gone and he can go between the binky, bottle and myself without any confusion. Hes a growing boy so I find myself feeding him from both sides more frequently now but I still seem to fill him up, something I wasn't able to do with Mia.

New Things:

He is becoming more alert everyday, he is cooing, smiles while awake, turns his head to track you, can go up to 5 hours between feedings at night and sometimes during the day (though rare), drank from his first bottle, we were able to take him out to eat a couple of times, went shopping with Mama, he can lift and turn his head, he can sleep alone in the room in either his boppie or napper, hes a pooping machine!!!! (sometimes he will poop 5+ times in an hour!)

Weight:

Goals for Next Month:

Have him sleep in the pack and play more either in the napper or flat on the bed. Maybe get him to sleep in his crib (not sure how realistic that is since we don't even have sheets for it yet and its still in Mia's room! haha) Extend the period between feedings to 4 hours consistently.

Mama and Son First Shopping Trip

Today was a special for us, and it wasn't even really planned that way. It so happens that little Miss Mia got ahold of my breast pumping supplies somehow and lost a vital part!!!! OH NO!! The only store that carries that part is Babies R Us, and I can't pump without it. Since I am dragging so bad today and next week will be tough on me, I wanted to pump tonight so I can get a straight shot at sleep... so off to the store I needed to go.

Again, the trip wasn't really planned and since Adrian took Mia to San Marcos with him for some stuff he needed, I had no choice but to take Alex with me to Babies R Us. I wasn't too nervous about it since I have solo'd him before at two doctor's visits, but I have never been shopping with him. I wasn't sure if he would scream in the store or not.

So after giving him a HUGE lunch, he knocked out on the couch. I got ready then got his stuff ready then packed him up in the car seat. He stirred alittle but remained asleep WHOOHOO! I put him in the car and off we went. To my surprise he didn't wake up once on the ride down there (about a 20 mins drive). Once we got to the store, I got a cart and loaded him up. Thats when he started to cry. UGH OH!!! but once I put his car seat in the cart and walked with him a bit he fell back asleep. PHEW!

I shopped for what I needed (and alittle extra, I just HAD to buy this cute little striped red polo shirt for him that was on clearance) and I was so happy to see he never woke up! Not even once! I was relieved, and bought what I needed and headed back to the car again and loaded him up. He remained asleep till about half way home, then he let out a HUGE scream and screamed and cried for about 5 mins then fell asleep. Now we are home. I still have him in his car seat here next to me. I haven't woken him up yet because I know I wouldn't have time for this blog once he did wake up. Now that this is taken care of, I will check his diaper. I am sure his scream was due to a poopie which is classic for him to do while driving for some reason. Not sure if its the vibration of the car or what but it never fails. Then I will pop him into the bath to help relax him for the night.

Anyway, the trip went VERY well and I am so glad and relieved for that. Who knows maybe this is the beginning of more Mama baby trips in the near future??!?!