Entirely Estes: 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

2 Months Old

Logan is 2 months old today! Time keeps going by so quickly. I can hardly believe my baby is two months old already.

Age: Two months
Weight: 13 lbs 3.2 oz (72%)
Height: 23" (50%)
Head: 39 1/2 cm (62%)
Eye Color: Still blue with a brighter blue ring around the center.
Hair: He still has all of the dark brownish beautiful hair he was born with. He hasn't lost any of it, and I still have not been able to get it to do anything but stand up all over the place! In the sunlight there is a hint of copper tone to his hair...he gets this from me!
Clothes: He is wearing 3 months in most clothes, but some of his 6 month onesies fit him. He grew out of all of his newborn clothes quite a while ago.
Diapers: He is just barely in size 1 diapers. I probably should switch him over to size 2 diapers any day now, but I'm trying to use as many of the size 1s that I can from our open box.
Milestones: He is smiling all the time now...it's just the cutest thing! He can track movement around the room and still loves to stare at the light coming in the windows. He has also started to stare at the mobiles above his swings. He will sit in my lap and stare at a short book while I read to him, but this doesn't last very long. He has made some laughing coos while smiling that have totally melted my heart. He is getting much more active now and will kick his legs while waving his arms around.
Sleeping: He still has been a pretty good sleeper. His longest sleep was 9 hours and 40 minutes but this was just a one time thing. He usually sleeps for an average of 5 to 6 hours at night. Occasionally he will sleep for as many as 7 hours and every now and then he will only sleep 4 hours. I'd say that his 5 hour sleeps are the most common which means I usually only have to get up once in the middle of the night to feed him. He no longer sleeps swaddled...now he sleeps in long-sleeved footed pjs generally with both arms above his head. He has also recently been taking very few naps during the day & his naps have been for less than an hour at a time.
Eating: Typically he still eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours during the day with his longer stretches at night. He eats for about 15 minutes at a time. I have still been exclusively breast feeding him and it is going really great! Feeding Logan is still one of my most special times with him & if you can't tell from his pictures...the boy loves to eat!
Activities: We have continued to read to him. I usually read to him first thing in the morning and occasionally at night as well. We have been doing a lot of tummy time. He is generally ok with it for about 10 minutes but then he will start his "meow" like cries. I have also been doing baby massage with him. He has also started to like to lay on his play gym & look at all the colorful things hanging down and flashing lights.
Favorite Things: Logan's favorite thing is still eating. He will eat pretty much anytime & gives me the biggest smiles after (and sometimes during) a meal. He also loves to sleep on my chest.
Daily Things: Logan continues to smile a lot. He is really a happy baby. He still makes meow-like crying sounds. One adorable thing he has started doing is playing with his own hair. While he eats he will reach one or both hands up and play with his own hair. My mom told me I used to reach up and play with her hair while she fed me & I've always loved to play with my hair, so it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy watching him do this.

Monday, August 26, 2013

One Month Old

On Saturday August 24, 2013 Logan turned one month old! It doesn't seem like a whole month has gone by since we welcomed our little Guy into this world! It's amazing how much our lives have changed in just 4 short weeks! I am going to try and do these monthly updates to keep a record of how Logan has grown and changed. I love this little man so much it is hard to even express.

Age: One month
Weight: Over 11 lbs according to our bathroom scale! 11 lbs 6.4 oz to be exact. He is already so much bigger & is starting to get little rolls on his arms and legs! Plus his adorable cheeks are getting more and more chubby.
Height: ? About 22" (But this was done in my lap with a ruler!)
Eye Color: Blue with a brighter blue ring around the center. Sometimes I think this ring has a touch of grey or very light brown in it, but in the bright light it is a pure bright blue ring around his irises. (This ring reminds me of "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer! lol)
Hair: He still has all of the dark beautiful hair he was born with, and I have not been able to get it to do anything but stand up all over the place!
Clothes: He is wearing 0-3 months in most clothes. He has grown out of most of his newborn clothes and there are a few 3 month outfits that he can wear.
Diapers: He is now in size 1 diapers. I switched him over from newborn at exactly 4 weeks old.
Milestones: At around three and a half weeks old he has rolled onto his side in his crib. He will hold his head up when he is on his tummy and look around. He has very expressive eyebrows and can raise one eyebrow and wrinkle his forehead...I wish I knew what he was thinking as he makes all of his faces!
Sleeping: He has been a pretty good sleeper (fingers crossed this continues!) and has slept for stretches of 5 hours from time to time. He has gone as long as 8 hours between feedings and was asleep for 5 and a half of those hours! Every now and then he will sleep too much during the day and want to eat every 3 hours at night...this is not as fun but thankfully these type of nights have been few and not back to back! He loves to be swaddled when he sleeps but will get too hot if he is in footed pajamas under the swaddle. He typically sleeps in a super soft Peek tshirt and diaper under his swaddle. Aunt Carolyn bought these tshirts for him and they are our favorite! If not a Peek tshirt, he sleeps in a onesie or a white shirt very like the shirts he wore in the hospital when he was born.
Eating: Typically he eats every 3 hours during the day and every 4 or 5 hours at night. He will eat for anywhere between 15 and 25 minutes at a time. I have been exclusively breast feeding him and it is actually going really great! I haven't been sore since he was two weeks old and have been able to produce more than enough milk. I've been able to pump and store milk already. I usually pump around 6 to 8 ounces at a time but have pumped as much as 13 1/2 ounces in one setting! Feeding Logan is so special to me. I have been pleasantly surprised how smoothly breast feeding has gone and hope that I can continue even after I return to work!
Activities: It is hard to squeeze in activities when he sleeps so much, but I've tried to do a few activities with him on a regular basis. One thing that both Jacob and I have done is read to him. Jacob gets bored of his kids books and has starting reading aloud to him whatever book he is currently reading. I have read just about every book on his shelf to him and have just recently started to play the Harry Potter audiobooks outloud to him! I'm sure that I will read these to him myself once he is old enough to to understand! Another "activity" both Jacob and I like to do is sing to him :-) Jacob sings a made up "Guy" song & I will sing just about anything to him. I also like to sing to him while I rock him to sleep.
Favorite Things: Logan's favorite thing is eating. He will eat pretty much anytime & gives me the biggest smiles after (and sometimes during) a meal. He also loves to sleep pretty much anywhere...in his crib, on mom or dad's chest, in his car seat, in the mama roo swing...he has even taken naps on his nap nanny and under his play gym.
Daily Things: Logan smiles a lot, especially after he has just eaten or if you lightly pinch his cheeks! When he is hungry he tries to suck on his hands, fingers, and thumb. I have a video of him sucking his thumb when he was just a week and a half old. We have a love/hate relationship with the pacifier. I first gave him a paci when he was two weeks old. He usually doesn't want the paci & always makes the most horrible faces when it first goes into his mouth. When he takes it, he makes the loudest sucking noises and isn't able to keep it in his mouth for more than a few minutes at a time. He is really a happy baby and rarely cries for no reason. When he wakes up in the night hungry or sometimes when he is dirty he will make these meow-like crying sounds. Only during diaper changes or baths does he ever let loose and fully cry. He HATED his first two baths and screamed/cried the whole time! His last bath was much better & he didn't fuss at all! Maybe he will finally start to like bath time!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

First Outings

We took Logan to Babe's Restaurant in Sanger on Sunday, August 11, 2013 to celebrate all of the August birthdays with my family. This was his first trip out of the house that wasn't to a doctor's office. I was a little nervous, but I was armed with plenty of hand sanitizer! Logan was perfect! I fed him in the car after we got there so that he would be full and happy. This turned out to be a great strategy because that's exactly what we got...a happy baby! He stayed in his car seat stroller the whole time and stared for quite a while until he eventually fell asleep.

After this initial trip, Logan and I went to Hobby Lobby and Kroger with Kiley and Barrett the next day, Monday August 12, 2013. Then Logan and I went to Babies R Us on Wednesday, August 14, 2013. He was really good for both outings. Since these trips were so successful, I feel I can take him anywhere without worrying about how he will behave! (As long as I feed him just before we go & I keep the whole trip under 3 hours!) I'm sure he will have a melt down in public eventually, but for now I'm going to keep my hopes high that we will keep having easy outings for as long as possible!

His pediatrician told me it was fine to take him out of the house as long as he was covered and I didn't let people touch him. It also helps that it is not cold & flu season. He did say it is better to wait until he is 6 weeks old to take him somewhere like church or up to my work to show him off since people will want to touch him at places like that. I have had several requests from coworkers for me to bring Logan up to see everyone, but it will be a couple more weeks! One thing I didn't know...if a baby under 6 weeks old gets a fever they immediately do a spinal tap and admit them to the hospital! They don't mess around with the chance of meningitis in a newborn...every day untreated can mean brain damage! Plus this measles outbreak has me just a bit worried. So, although Logan has been a perfect angel, I will still keep our trips out short and try to expose him as little as possible to too many people at a time until he is a little older.

Me and Logan at Babe's

This is what he did most of the time...trying to take in his new surroundings!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Feeding Logan

I just love the little sounds Logan makes while I am feeding him. His coos, grunts, and baby swallowing sounds are nothing but precious! I have really enjoyed this bonding time. He will look into my eyes and his gaze reaches right down and tugs on my heart. I wouldn't trade that time for anything. Since I am breast feeding, I was the only one to feed Logan for a long time. On Monday evening August 5, 2013, Jacob gave Logan his first bottle of pumped milk. It was a sweet moment. Jacob was able to hear the adorable noises Logan makes while he eats. There was nothing but pure happiness on Jacob's face as he fed his son for the first time.

Pampa has been in town for quite a while to see Logan and to visit Grayden and the rest of the family. During his visit to our house on Saturday August 10, 2013, Jacob was still hands off of Logan since he was exposed to the stomach bug at work. Steve was more than happy (this is an understatement!) to help out. I pumped 9 oz of milk and was able to take a much needed Saturday nap for 4 1/2 hours during the afternoon! Steve fed him two bottles that day and changed a few dirty diapers! I was very thankful & I know that Steve was more than just a little bit happy to be able to step in and help. He doesn't call it "babysitting"...he calls it "bonding time" with his grandson :-)

Snoopy likes to stand guard for Logan!

First Bath

Jacob and I gave Logan his first bath on Wednesday evening, July 31, 2013. He was exactly one week old. My mom, Kiley, Steven & Barrett were all there. Logan absolutely hated his bath! He cried and screamed the whole time. We have a video but it is too heart-wrenching to post...plus it shows too much of his private parts :-) I do have a few pictures though. One funny thing...while videoing the bath Kiley suddenly looked down and realized that Barrett had his hand in Snoopy's water bowl! There is never a dull moment with all the boys in our family!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Dr. Visits

Logan has had a few doctor visits since we brought him home from the hospital. His first was scheduled for the following Monday after we brought him home on Friday. I was very anxious to get Logan in to his first appointment that Monday because over the weekend while Kiley was here we noticed that the whites of his eyes were a little bit yellow. He was born with a very pretty, tan skin tone, but by Sunday his face was looking pretty orange and the whites of his eyes were definitely yellow. I called the doctor's office and got a call back from the after hours nurse. She asked if he was eating and going to the bathroom regularly (which he was) & she said to monitor his temperature (which was normal) and make sure that his arms and legs weren't turning yellow like his face (which they weren't). She said she thought that it should be okay to wait until my appointment the next day as long as he was acting normally and not feverish or turning more yellow on his arms and legs. Although I felt a little better, I was still worried and ready to see what Dr. Day had to say about it.

Jacob and I loaded up the truck and went to Logan's appointment on Monday, July 29, 2013. I think I really like Logan's pediatrician Dr. Day. He seems very nice and is at the same practice as Barrett, Remi & Roen's doctor. At this appointment, he was 5 days old. He weighed 7 lbs 6.4 oz and was in the 38th percentile of weight. This is very close to the 7 lbs 7 oz he weighed leaving the hospital. Dr. Day said it was normal for babies to still not be back to their birth weight by this time. He actually called Logan a "big guy" :-) He said that although Logan was slightly jaundiced, he was not worried about it and thought it would go away soon on its own. He made me feel a lot better and showed me how to check the color in his legs and compare it to his face to make sure the jaundice was getting better instead of worse.

Dr. Day examining Logan at his first appointment. He was only 5 days old!

Logan's second doctor visit was his two week checkup on August 7, 2013. At this appointment he was exactly 2 weeks old. He weighed 8 lbs 6.4 oz (49th percentile). He was 21" long (75th percentile). His head was 36cm (57th percentile). Overall he is fairly average sized :-) His jaundice was much much better...almost completely gone! Since this appointment was the same day that Jacob had to start back to work, my sister Kiley came with me to help. She carried Logan in his car seat and got in a few snuggles while waiting for the doctor.

Ready for his two week checkup!

Snuggle baby

The next day, August 8, 2013, was my two week doctor checkup and I also took Logan get his PKU test. This was our first trip out of the house with just the two of us! I was a little nervous and way over-packed the diaper bag, but everything went great! He was very good during my checkup. I had to feed him while I was waiting since Dr. Asis got held up doing a C-Section. Then we headed next door to the hospital for his PKU test. They had to prick his heel and take blood. :-( He didn't like being woken up and put into the little bed, but I gave him a paci and it calmed him right down. He only cried for less than 10 seconds after they pricked his heel and then was very good while they squeezed his heel and collected his blood on the card. I was so proud of him!