Our First "Sick" Dr Appt, Cutting Teeth and Just Growing Up in General

Do all mothers have to try so hard not to bawl when they discover their little baby boy is cutting his first tooth? I can hardly think about it without tearing up! My sweet little angel baby is growing up too fast and I just want to stop time! For the past few weeks, Rusty and I have been thinking that Sutton has been teething as he's constantly chewing on his hands, fists, bib, towel, our hands, my boobs and anything else he can get into his mouth. Add in that he has personified 'drool bucket' lately and we figured teeth were going to be popping up pretty soon. And sure enough, last night, I felt a little bump on his bottom gumline. After we had been expecting it for so long, I thought I would be excited! But I wasn't. I was so sad and overwhelmed! I don't want him to grow up! He's so sweet and fun and amazing right now, I just don't want anything to change! I guess we getter get used to it, because he has a long way to go, a lot of growing up to do and there are going to be LOTS of changes along the way!
One of the changes we've noticed lately is that Sutton is so congested! He snorts and wheezes and blows boogers everywhere! After researching online, asking the grandmas and polling friends with babies, we pretty much decided it was normal. So we brought out the saline drops and just tried to keep Sutton from looking like a snot-face.
Then, last week, he had a couple little throw up incidents that kinda scared me, so I called the WONDERFUL Methodist Hospital Call a Nurse line Friday evening. Katie, an RN, informed me that it might be a stomach bug but as long as he wasn't dehydrated and was acting normal, not to be concerned but to make an appointment with our pediatrician anyways. Thankfully, our pediatricians practice offers Saturday appointments and we were able to get Sutton in at 9:30am. 

OUR LITTLE PORKER WEIGHS 15 LBS, 9 OZ!

After we recovered from shock, we waited patiently for the pediatrician on call to see us. Sutton just started squealing and did NOT stop the entire time we were in the dr's office. It was so cute, but rediculous because here we are with our 'sick' baby, showing up for a Dr's appointment on a Saturday, and he's cooing and squealing and rolling around on the exam table like he doesn't have a care in the world!
The pediatrician on-call (who was amazing!) told us not to worry about the throw up, to try to keep him on breastmilk for the next couple of days (we've still be supplementing with formula) and just make sure he stays hydrated. And she wasn't at all concerned about the congestion.
He's doing much better now, no more throwing up, we have a cool-mist humidifier in his room and are regularly squirting saline solution up his nose to keep his little nasal passages moist. I even love his nasal passages. This kid is a miracle to me.
The biggest change lately has been... wait for it.... Sutton is rolling over! He will roll from his tummy to his back and is SO close to going back to tummy. Rusty sent me a video one day on my way home from work and said Sutton had rolled over three times in a row! Our sitter, Phyllis, said that he does it during the day, too! I watch the video all the time, but I STILL haven't seen him do it in person! I'll keep trying and watching and I'm sure my vigilance will be rewarded eventually!
Some other highlights:

• Rusty measured Sutton top to toes and he is about 26 inches long! That's only three inches away from growing out of his infant carrier!
• He now eats 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal morning and night.
• He LOVES his exersaucer and to be standing up, sitting up laying on his tummy; pretty much anything other than laying on his back.
• He is gaining more and more control of his hands. He is contantly grabbing at things (his favorite is my hair. I'm chopping it all off. ASAP.)
• Sutton loves it when you bark like a puppy at him and stick your tongue out and pant like a dog. This cracks him up every time!
• He is still so cuddly and loves to be held and rocked and hugged and kissed on.
• He loves to be sung "You are My Sunshine"

                                 

Three Weeks In

It's the last day of my third week back at work. Oh. My. Word. I've hardly had a chance to breathe, let alone blog about everything that is going on!
Weekdays start at 5:30am when I wake up and get myself ready for work. Thankfully, Sutton would sleep until who-knows-what hour of the morning if I let him, so I don't have to worry about him while showering and getting dressed. I usually wake him up about 6:45 and he nurses and gets some cereal. Then it's into the carseat and off to Nannys!
Rusty and I finally have our morning routine down to where it's manageable and not just us flying around the house grabbing bottles, lunch, binkys and the baby, shoving it all in the car and trying to remember to open the garage before I back out! Turns out it's much easier to get everything ready the night before. Hm. Who'd have thunk it?
I still miss Sutton SO much while I'm at work. Instead of getting easier, it's getting harder to be away from him every day. Thankfully, it's our busy season at work and the days are flying by in a blur of students, paperwork and pumping.
Pumping at work. You think people would understand that my son has to eat and while I'm pumping, I might as well be walking around topless for everything you can see. Oh, no; they don't hesitate to knock and ask if I can help with something, even though I sent out a very polite, discreet email on my first day back about being unavailable while I make my son's lunch for the next day AND have a 'Privacy, Please!' sign on my door.
Sutton is growing like a weed. A cute, bubbly, talkative little weed! Every day after work when Rusty picks him up, before I get home, they have 'Daddy Boot Camp.' I quit asking what happens during this half hour, since the one time I asked, I was told Sutton is learning to walk, crawl and cuss. Ah, my boys! Exciting things do happen at Daddy Boot Camp, though. Yesterday, Rusty told me that Sutton had rolled over from his belly to his back! He's done this once when he was about 9 weeks old, but I'm convinced it was a fluke since he rolled into a crack on the couch. So this was his first 'true' roll over!
He's also using his exer-saucer and LOVES it. He bats at the toys and wiggles around and makes the whole exer-saucer rock back and forth. Just goes crazy!
This Saturday, I will spend my first night away from him without Rusty. I'm going to a very good friend of ours bachelorette party in New Braunfels. Very excited, but very anxious about being away from Sutton during one of the few times I have to spend all day and all night with him! There's no telling what he's going to learn at a full day of Daddy Boot Camp!

4 days shy of 3 months old

Our first go 'round with cereal

So, the day before I go back to work probably isn't the best time to try new things, but we figured, what the heck, enough things are changing for Sutton anyways, so what's a couple more?
This afternoon, we tried some cereal for the first time and last night was Sutton's first night in his crib upstairs. He did pretty good in his crib, considering yesterday was a VERY lazy day for all of us and we all three slept ALOT during the day. Sutton was no where near tired come his bedtime, but we stuck to our routine and got him ready for bed and put him down around 7:30. He fussed a bit, but with a little help from his tootie (I don't know why, but lately we've been calling his pacifier his tootie) he soon was snoozing. He's been sleeping through the night until about 6:30 or 7am, but I think being in a new environment coupled with lots of napping the day before threw off his sleep schedule and he woke up at about 2 (I just stuck his tootie back in his mouth) and again at 5:30 to eat. Then he went back down until around 8:30. Not too shabby!
I am so excited about Sutton trying cereal! I know it may seem a bit early, he'll be 12 weeks next Tuesday, but the Dr said to go ahead and start him on cereal at 3 months, so we decided to give it a shot as he's almost constantly hungry. And he did great! I won't say that more didn't end up on his bib than in his tummy, but he enjoyed it for about 10 minutes (WAY longer than I thought he would tolerate the spoon) and was actually opening his mouth and reaching for this spoon! Hopefully he tolerates it as well tomorrow evening and from now on. Here are a few pics we snapped:

A very emotional day

Today was my last day home with Sutton before I got back to work on Monday. I couldn't get over the 'lasts' all day. Last time to pick him up in the morning, knowing I'll get to see that smiling face all day. Last time I'll take him upstairs for storytime and to change out of his pjs. Last time I'll cook lunch while simultaneously trying to keep him entertained.
I know it's not really the LAST time I'll do these things, but this is the end of my all-day, every-day time with Sutton. I cried. ALOT. He couldn't coo or giggle or squeal without me tearing up and having to pick him up and squeeze him.
Then, right before lunch, I got some devasting news. I called my OBGYN's office to confirm that my paperwork for my return to work had been faxed and was informed that Dr Kittrell had passed away. My heart dropped. I was, and am still, so upset about it. This is the man who delivered our son just a few weeks before he passed away. I saw him for my 6-week post-delivery check-up less than two weeks before he passed away. It was very sudden and unexpected. His office staff was audibly upset on the phone while we were speaking. Logically, I don't see why I should be so upset, but this is the person who helped bring our son into the world. I complained about his office quite a bit, but I loved him as a Dr and was of the mind that he would most likely be delivering the children we will have in the years to come.
Today has been so hard. I want to weekend to last forever and am still hoping for a Hail Mary that will let me stay home with Sutton. It hasn't hit me that Monday morning, I'll drop him off at the Nanny's and be away from him all day. I can't even comprehend that.

We are so blessed!

After writing our last post, I got curious and starting clicking 'Next Blog' at the top of our blog page. And with each blog I explored, I felt more and more blessed. Truly blessed. Not lucky. Not fortunate. Blessed. He is watching out for us, and the majority of the time, we don't realize or acknowledge Him.

The first blog was about a family who lost their baby at 37 weeks. Do you know what happens when a baby dies in the womb at 37 weeks? You go through childbirth. Either vaginally or via Cesarean. Just as if you were having a baby and nothing was wrong. Except the whole time, you know that you'll be leaving the hospital without a baby. Sutton spent two extra days in the NICU after I was released. That shouldn't even COMPARE to leaving the hospital knowing you'll never take your baby home, but as awkward as I felt being wheeled out of the hospital, bags, flowers, balloons, swollen uterus and no baby in my arms, I know that, to me, it is unimaginable to think about the grief and awkwardness of leaving in the same manner as a woman who just had a baby, who is carrying him or her in her arms, empty-handed and empty-hearted.

The second blog was about tying a bedsheet over a toddlers crib as he has outgrown it and had been climbing out of it for a couple of weeks. That was a good laugh. Once the family bought him a toddler bed, they shut him in the bedroom (not in a mean way, as I typed that, I realized it sounded bad) and he fell asleep up against the door with his little fingers reached out from under the door. Good Heavens! As Sutton has never really slept anywhere but his pack and play (or at least not with us) I hope that's not us in a couple of years! I'd cave in an instant! But not sooner than Rusty! He's the softie.

The third blog was about how a 6 1/2 month old baby wouldn't sleep more than 2 hours in her crib. Sutton sleeps from 7-8pm to around 7am. That's around 12 hours a night. No feedings, no interruptions, no fussing. Just sleeping.

The funny thing is, I COULD HANDLE A 'DIFFICULT' BABY! I'm my best under pressure. The higher the pressure, the more calm and take-charge I am. Seriously, we are COASTING with Sutton. Debbie (Rusty's mom) says that he was the BEST baby and once he hit the toddler age, he was a stinker, but soooo lovable. 'Naked Roll!' anyone? (Inside joke.)

It just astounds me how easy we have it with Sutton. He inspires more prayers of thankfulness than I've ever offered in my life.

Diaper Explosion!

Well, it finally happened. Sutton pooped and it made a big ol' mess. I was kinda wanting to start bragging on the fact that this hadn't happened to us yet, but I guess that's out now!
We were just finishing up dinner and Sutton was in his bouncy seat right by the table (within easy reach in case I needed to pop a binky back in his mouth and/or start bouncing him with my foot) when he started getting fussy. I thought he was just bored looking at the underside of the table so I started giving him a little bounce every now and then. Rusty finished eating first, so we went over to Sutton, bent down to pick him up.... and ran halfway across the kitchen, holding his hands up in the air, saying, "I can't deal with that! I'm going to throw up right now! I can't do it!" I think he mentioned something about having to go in the garage; I'm not sure. It was pretty dramatic.
I thought it was just a stinky diaper. Sutton is only an every-3-day-pooper, so it tends to be a bit smelly. At the exact moment I bent down to pick Sutton up, Rusty starts hollering again about how it's "everywhere! All over his legs! It's all on his bouncer." etc. So I take a peek....

And I crack up. I don't know why it's so funny! I start asking Sutton, in a baby voice, of course, "Do you have poopies everywhere? Are there poopies all over you?" which makes Sutton smile and coo and just give me this coy little look. Which makes me crack up even MORE!

We finally got him cleaned up, bathed and his bouncy seat in the washer. Clean baby, clean bouncy seat, a pile of wash cloths, towels and one smelly onesie in the washer, we concluded our latest stinky adventure!