Four Months Old!

Sweet Baby Noah,

You are four months old today!  You are getting so big.  Your eyes are wider, your hair is longer, and your scream is louder.  You are growing up.

I took you to the doctor today for your four-month check up, and she discovered that you are teething.  When she shone the flashlight into your mouth, we could see two tiny bottom front teeth about to break through the gums.  No wonder you've been so cranky this week--I was quite relieved to find out that there is a reason (and it's not that you hate your mother) AND that there is a solution (Baby Tylenol) for your grumpiness.

We spent last week in Idaho with family for Thanksgiving, and you were one happy little baby.  Everyone was there--Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Nate, Aunt Alli and Uncle Derek, Aunt Sara and Uncle Cole, and Uncle Tanner--and everyone held you and talked to you and danced with you.  I don't think you made a single whimper the entire week without someone scooping you up to soothe you.  You are one seriously loved little baby.

As is always the case for adults when they return from vacation, it's been a bit of a shock for you to be back to reality.  Mom can't hold you 24/7.  She isn't strong enough, and she has to occasionally do things like clean the house and make dinner.  Sorry, Kiddo.

It is really hard for me when you cry and fuss, and you still do that much of the day.  It makes me feel helpless, isolated, and unsuccessful.  I will admit that the transition to being a stay-at-home mom has been difficult for me.  There is no where else I'd rather be, but it is hard nonetheless.  I think it is pretty common for women to feel this way, but I feel an added sense of guilt because I wanted you for so long and I want to be the perfect mother to you.  I was telling your dad tonight, "The only reward that mothers get is to see that their children are happy."  So when you're unhappy, I just feel rotten.

Cheer up soon, okay?

Christmas is coming, and snow was falling today.  It was so pretty, and I tried to show you out the apartment window.  You were staring so intently that I thought you were enjoying the wintery scene as much as I was...but then I noticed that you were merely staring at the string dangling from the blinds.  Go figure.

You started kind of playing with toys this month.  You love watching the mobile above your crib and batting at the toys hanging from your play gym.  You curl your legs up to your stomach and put your hands in your mouth as you watch the toys swaying above you.  It's too cute.

You've only rolled over once, that I've seen.  You don't like "tummy time" at all, so you rolled from your tummy to your back in order to escape.  I thought you'd be an early crawler because you are so strong, but if you refuse to be on your stomach, you might skip crawling all together and go straight to walking in several months. Walking...now that's a crazy thought.

The doctor said we should start you on solid foods now, so we'll try some rice cereal next week.  I hope you're not too excited...because that stuff is seriously bland.  But then again, anything tastes better than formula.  I recently tried a little sip, and I now understand why you spit up so often.  I would throw that stuff up too.  Sooooo nasty.

Speaking of spit up, you are a geyser.  Today while we were waiting in the examination room for the doctor, you spit up down my shirt (creating a sticky pool in a most uncomfortable place) and then you spit up in my lap (creating a large wet spot in a very unfortunate place).  Seriously, the doctor probably thought that mommy needed a diaper.  So embarrassing.  But despite your constant spewing, you are gaining weight and growing just fine.  You weigh 14 lbs 14 oz (50th percentile), and you are 25.5 inches long (74th percentile).  Unlike your cousin Callum and your Aunt Sarah, you have a tiny head (26th percentile), which explains why none of your little baseball hats really fit you yet.  Oh well...we wouldn't want to cover up your cute hair anyway.

You did look super darling in this little beanie today though:

Love this little reindeer outfit for December 1st

Happy Four Month Birthday, Noah.

We love you so much.
Mom

Noah's November

November is a special month: It's the month of Thanksgiving, and, perhaps not coincidentally, it's also National Adoption Month!  We are so grateful for adoption, and we are so grateful for you, Noah.  To celebrate National Adoption month, I did a lot of posts about adoption on my blog, and Katie also wrote up her full story.  I know you will love reading her perspective someday.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we went to Idaho to spend the holiday with Grandma and Grandpa Nielson.  Your Uncle Cole also got married the week before Thanksgiving, so we ended up spending 10 days with the family, and you loved every minute of it.  You were happier and smilier than I've ever seen you.  And why wouldn't you be, when you got to spend so much time with so many of your favorite people??

Your Uncles and Aunts:

Your Grandpa and Grandma:

Your Birthparents (we saw Katie several times, and we saw Drew for an afternoon when he was home for his college break):

I think you were sad that you couldn't join us in eating the ginormous FH'zookie.
P.S. I love this little frowny face you make.  It is precious. 

Your Mom:

Your Dad:

Matching cowlicks!

You had a very eventful November...and your December will be just as fun with your Westover relatives.  You are one lucky baby!!

A Family of Three

We got our family photos taken this past weekend.  I am thrilled by how they turned out.  You were super grumpy before the photo shoot began, so I was afraid that you wouldn't smile for the camera.  It took you a while to warm up...

You're not paying attention, but you're still cute as can be.

"Do I really have to do this, Mom?"

 ...but then Mom and Dad talked to you about it...

"Please smile, Noah!"
You look like you're thinking about it.

...and you decided to cooperate!  Once you got smiling, you couldn't stop!  You are so cute!

You love your dad!  And he loves you!

My very favorite shot!

Three Months Old!

Noah,

You are three months old!!  You are actually 14 weeks tomorrow, but I've gotten a bit behind on the blogging.  I would apologize, but I'm pretty sure that you would rather that I take good care of you than write blog posts all day.  So no apologies from me! :)

On your three-month birthday, I took you to the doctor because you'd been spitting up so much, fussing most of the day, and crying out in pain during nap times.  You were waking up about 15 minutes into a nap screaming your head off, and I read in some books that babies with reflux have a hard time napping because the minute their bodies relax, the acid starts creeping up from their stomachs.  I thought I would have you checked out.

You were an angel at the doctor, so I think at first she thought I was exaggerating your symptoms.  (You stinker.) But when I told her more, she did prescribe you with a mild antacid, and I think it's been helping these past two weeks (though it's hard to tell--I wish you could just tell me how you're feeling).

At your three month appointment, you weighed 12 pounds 11 ounces, which is only 40th percentile, but I think you're starting to pack on the pounds.  I am noticing new rolls of cuteness every day, and you seem to be eating more (could be because your tummy is feeling better, who knows.)  You are so funny: when you decide that you want to eat, you want to eat NOW.  You will go from smiling peacefully to hysterically screaming in ten seconds flat, and nothing can console you but a bottle.  Bapa says you have a disorder called S.O.R.H. (Sudden Onset of Ravenous Hunger).  Ha!  When you are eating and I take the bottle away partway through the feeding in order to burp you, you go ballistic.  I always say, "I'll give it back!" but you don't seem to believe me.  :)

I took this cute photo of you right after your doctor appointment.  We were in Cafe Rio together (go figure.)  Your doctor's office is right by the only Cafe Rio in the area, so I don't have any choice but to stop for lunch on the way home.

Are you cute, or what???  I love those blue eyes!

So far, I think you are liking being three months old.  You are still pretty fussy during the day, but you sleep really well at night, so I can't complain.  You aren't consistently sleeping all the way through the night, but you go to bed without much of a fight, and if you wake up once or twice to eat, you go right back to sleep after you finish the bottle.  (Thank you, Angel!!!)  As you are falling asleep, you often roll your head back and forth, almost as if you're rocking yourself to sleep, and you've managed to rub off most of the hair on the back of your head.  You have a huge bald spot...it's funny.  I call it your reverse mullet because your hair is still so long in the front.  I need to get a photo of it.

The highlight of the past week is that you've started laughing.  We've only heard it a few times, but it is so darling.  Early in the week, your Great Grammy Elaine was holding you, and you were smiling and cooing at her.  She thought it was so cute that she started laughing in glee, and then you caught the bug, and you laughed out loud for the first time ever.  It was just one brief guffaw, but it was definitely a real laugh!  (Needless to say, Grammy was thrilled to be the first person to make you giggle.)

Then the other night, Daddy and I were putting you to bed and you just started laughing out of the blue.  It was so random because only minutes before you had been sobbing in exhaustion, then you quieted down while we were putting on your pajamas, and all of the sudden you burst out laughing.  We were shocked and looked at each other in disbelief, and then we spent the next twenty minutes making you chuckle.  It was heaven, and I am so glad that Daddy was right there to hear your first real giggle fit (he had missed the laugh with Grammy).

We wanted to share this newest milestone with Katie and Drew, so yesterday, we got a video of you laughing a little bit.  Sorry I am so annoying in the video, but I will do anything to get you to smile. :)

That's the quick update.  I sure love you, Baby Boy--fussiness and all!

Dear Sweet Little Lobster,

Daddy is putting you to bed right now.  I am too tired to do anything but lay on the bed and blog.  It's been a long day of fun...your first Halloween!  It was so exciting for me to actually have a baby to dress up and play with this year.

Our fun started last week when we went to Bapa's ward Halloween party. That was your lobster debut, and even I was shocked by how much people loved the costume.  I mean, I knew it was cute...but literally everyone in the party, even perfect strangers, stopped to ooh and goo over you.  You were such a hit. The best part was when you fell asleep in the stockpot.  A-dorable.

After that experience, I knew that we needed more opportunities to show you off.  Neither our ward nor our friends was having a Halloween party, and since Cousin Callum is in California with his parents visiting Aunt Laura, we didn't have anyone to go Trick-or-Treating with.  I was afraid it was going to be a pretty dull Halloween--so I planned some fun for us.  First, we met my dear friend Sandy for breakfast at The Pancake House.  You wore your costume to the restaurant, and Sandy (and everyone else) just loved it.  Then, we met Daddy at his work for lunch.  This was the highlight of the day.  Dad was so proud to show you off to his co-workers at the dental clinic, and then we walked across the street to the hospital cafeteria to grab some food.  You were sitting in your stockpot, and oh my goodness, Noah, you were like a celebrity!  The cafeteria was full of people, many of them in costume, and I don't think a single person in the room didn't comment on your costume, stop to talk to you, ask to take your picture, and smile and laugh at the little lobster.  As we walked through the masses, we heard so many people chuckling and saying "Look, he's in a pot!" or "That is the cutest costume I've ever seen!" or "Awwwww!"  It was unreal!  I have never had that much attention directed toward me while I was in a public place--and, of course, you were completely oblivious to it. :)  Then we went home, and while I made a Halloween dessert and cleaned our apartment, you got a little break from the sweaty costume (you actually took a 3 hour nap--I guess the morning's excitement was too much for you).  At 7:00, you got back in your costume because a few of our favorite couples from the ward came over for dessert.  Everyone agreed that you couldn't possibly be any cuter.

It turned out to be a really great day, but now I am completely worn out.  You are heavy in that stockpot!!  As soon as I finish this letter, I'm going to bed!!!

I love holidays.  They bring the world together.  I can't wait to celebrate so many Halloweens with you--I promise that I will always try to make it a special day for you and for our family.

Happy First Halloween, Little "Lobby!"  (That's what I called you all day.)

Love,
Mom

 

  

Cutest Little Pumpkin in the World

The outfit you wore to church today. :)

Happy Halloween Eve!

Shoe Shopping with Mom and Aunt Laura

Please notice the stacks of boxes on your lap, and on the front of your stroller!  

Thanks for holding on to all those boxes for us, Sweet Pea!

You were a great helper for about ten minutes, and then, in typical male fashion, you got tired of shopping and started fussing.  Figures.