Joey - 2 months!

Our little Joey is growing so fast!  He is long and lean, but he's got some full cheeks and a double chin, so my mama-heart is happy.  He is a relaxed, happy, content, easy-going baby who only cries when he's hungry, sleepy (if then), or poopy.  Since the grandparents have been in town, he does now cry just to be held, but usually it's also because he's tired.  He loves to smile at Daddy and Gia and has long conversations with Mama. He likes to be held over my shoulder and have his back rubbed.

He is in 3-6 month clothes and size 1 diapers.

Around 6 weeks he began sleeping 5-6 hours at a time at night, and by 8 weeks he was sleeping about 8 hours.  He now sleeps from about 10 or 11 until 7 or 8ish, with the occasional 9am.  He takes good naps in the daytime as well... usually a little bit of sleep in between each feeding and a long nap sometime in the mid-day.

He loves looking at the toys that dangle from his play mat and swing.

He hates his carseat, but is okay once he's in the car and moving.

He takes the paci sometimes, but usually only for a second as he's falling asleep.

He is the most patient baby when it comes to feeding and diaper changing.  As long as you're talking to him or holding him, he won't cry unless he's starving.

He grabs at things, such as the toys above him or my hair.  He seems to have good hand-eye coordination.




I think he's going to be the tallest of our three kids.

He's starting to get hair!  Although it's very short right now, it looks like he'll be taking after his daddy (lots of dark hair).  Bobby was also bald as a baby.  He still has some green in his eyes, but they are definitely turning brown.

No sickness yet, although he still breaths deeply when he sleeps (not quite snoring, just deep breathing sounds through his nose).  This is actually a comfort to me because I can always hear him sleeping and know he's okay.

Joey got to meet his paternal grandparents for the first time this month!  They were smitten with him, and he got spoiled with hugs, kisses and being held.

Joey - One month!

Happy one month, little boy!  You are joy to our family and we are very blessed to call you ours.  This month has been a bit of a blur for me, especially since I'm still only getting 4 hours at most of sleep at a time.  Thank goodness for a husband with flexible hours and willingness to get up with the kids so that I can get an extra hour or so of sleep in the morning!

Joey eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day, which make it a 7 hour-a-day job because he takes 40 minutes to eat at this point!  It's been a tricky balance between feeding Joey, taking care of Gia & Trey, trying to keep the house clean and meals made and still remain connected to my friends, family and church members.  I know that once he nurses less frequently and for fewer minutes at a time, things will calm down again.  For now, I'm just going with the flow, trying to get the most important things done (meals, dishes, laundry & time with the kids), and working out our new normal.  Oh, and trying to get sleep.  I need more hours in the day :)

Some stats on Joey:

Weight: 10 lbs 3 oz (on our home scale)

Length:  he's definitely getting longer, but still fits into newborn onesies and outfits.  He is still in newborn diapers, but that won't be for long... 1s are right around the corner.

First smile:  3 week birthday!  Bobby says he got a smile the day before, but I know for sure that I got a big, open-mouthed smile on October 23!  So far, he smiles in the morning after his feeding, but not later in the day.

He LOVES to snuggle with me!  I pick him up and he just curls up to my chest and snuggles in.  It's the best.  He is partial to me (Mama) but loves to stare intensely at Daddy.  He also loves Gia and Trey, and he calms down when Gia talks to him.

His blue eyes are dark, so I'm pretty sure they will be turning brown.  I wonder if they will be dark like Trey's and mine or have some green in them like Gia's and Bobby's?

He has two dimples... I'm so excited!

So far, no jealously with Gia or Trey.  It's been the most amazing experience to watch them both love and adore baby Joey.  Trey gets up every morning excited to hug and kiss his baby brother.  Gia can't wait to coo to Joey and try to get him to smile at her.  I pray every night that God would make my children best friends, and we as parents try to foster that love between them.

I finally understand what people mean when they say they miss the baby stage.  He is so sweet, and I know I'm going to look back on these days fondly.

With Gia and Trey, I didn't leave the house for a couple months.  This time around I was desperate to get out of the house and be around people right away.  I wanted to see friends and go to church and be social.  But, I over did it the first week by booking our schedule solid.  After that, I had to relax a little bit, let myself heal and get some rest.  

It's been really hard not being able to lift things, especially when it comes to raising Trey.  He loves to be held, which I could do.  Also, trying to lift my 30 lb son into the crib, car seat, highchair, etc... was impossible.  In a couple weeks I should be back to normal and able to pick him up.  Thankfully, my mom was here to help for a couple weeks after Joey was born and Bobby has been awesome with helping me.

Funny Things Trey Says

I want to remember all the funny things that Trey says as a little boy, because I'm sure there will be a lot!

September, 2015
"Poo-poo funny!"

October, 2015
"Bug guts."

1/22/16
Having a discussion about who is a boy and who is a girl.
Bobby:  And what is Gia?
Trey:  Gia's a girl
Bobby:  What are you?
Trey:  A boy.
Bobby:  What is Daddy?
Trey:  Daddy's a boy.
Bobby: What's Mama?
Trey: Mama's a big boy.

5/3/16
We did the marshmallow test with Trey.  In a word, "hilarious."

5/4/16
Trey was in the living room reading his "sing along elmo" book, and he was singing "Big Bird has a little butt" to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."  Then Gia started laughing and they both began to sing that song as they danced around the living room laughing.

5/18/16
We were going to Great Harvest to get breakfast, and Trey asked Bobby, "We going to the combine harvester place?"

November 17, 2016
Trey: "Nana, I want you to read me stories."
Nana:  "Okay, do you know which one you like?"
Trey: "Yeah.  I know everything."

Monday, December 4, 2016
Trey and I are playing a game with cars and taking turns saying, "I win" as we push our cars.  Bobby says, "I win."  Trey says, "No Daddy.  He (the car) takes the gold from you.  He put it around his neck."

Monday, December 19, 2016
Me:  Trey, you're funny.
Trey:  Nuh-uh.
Me:  You make me laugh.
Trey:  No, I make you serious.

Tuesday, March 28, 2017
After Trey went to the bathroom and I got him new underwear because he had peed a little bit in it:
Me:  Trey, go put your pants on.
Trey:  They have pee-pee in them
Me:  I don't think so, your underwear wasn't very wet.
Trey:  Let me go smell them [my pants].

5-4-2017
Trey:  Daddy, let's make a bet.  If I win, we watch Monster Trucks.  If you win, we watch kid shows."

Friday, August 17, 2018
Trey, while sitting in Bobby's lap:
Trey:  "Daddy, did you feel that?  I farted on you."
Bobby: "No buddy, I didn't feel it."
Trey:  "They were little farts."

Saturday, August 18, 2018
Earlier, I had told Trey not to pick his nose because it was making it bleed.
When Nana and Papa were putting Gia and Trey to bed, Papa saw Trey with his finger up his nose.
Papa:  "Trey, didn't Mama say not to pick your nose?"
Trey:  "I'm pushing them back up."

Joey's birth story

So, I was hoping that I would go into labor on my own this time around because I do labor naturally and it's much worse when you're being induced.  I had made an appointment for an inducement on the Thursday after my due date, but honestly didn't think I was going to need it because I was having so many braxton hicks.  On Wednesday, I was over 40 weeks, so we went to see our doctor for an extra appointment.  He measured the baby at 7lbs 11oz, and said that if it were him, he would go ahead and induce the next day.  He has always told us that nothing good comes after 41 weeks, and the hospital didn't have any other dates available until I was 41 weeks.  I wanted to wait, but Bobby was convinced that we didn't need to wait any longer, so I conceded and kept the inducement appointment.
All day Wednesday after the appointment I was in a bad mood.  I felt like I had no choice in the induction and wasn't being given the chance to do labor naturally.  Mostly, I knew the pain I was in for and didn't want to face it.  But we packed up and went to the hospital the next morning at 9am.  At first, there had been a miscommunication and they had cancelled our appointment for that day, but they were slow on the floor and said they could get me in at 10:30 (or that I could keep the appointment that had now been made for Sunday morning).  We decided to go ahead with it since we had everything worked out for baby sitters for the kids and such.  We went home for a little bit, and I was able to fix my hair and re-prepare myself for the induction.
When we went back to the hospital, I was more confident.  It was a new hospital to me since my other two were born at another hospital.  The nurses at the front desk were very nice, and one asked me why I was so scared.  She wondered if this was my first pregnancy.  I told her no, it was my third, but I knew what an un-medicated induction felt like and wasn't looking forward to it.  I could then see the surprise on all the nurses faces when they realized I wouldn't be getting an epidural.  The nurse asked why I wasn't getting one, and I said that I don't like the idea of needles in my back... I would rather deal with the pain of labor.  The truth is, there are many reasons I don't get epidurals, but I didn't want to go into all of that.
My nurse took me back to my room and gave me my hospital gown.  They let Bobby be with me the whole time, which was different from Trey's induction at the other hospital.  The IV was the least painful I've ever had. The nurse numbed my wrist and then got it in on the first try.

Trey - 22 months!

Our boy turned 22 months a couple weeks ago.  Life has been pretty busy trying to get everything done before baby #3 gets here, so I haven't written an update in a while!  I'm going to have to try to remember all that's happened with Trey in the past 2 months.

He's still a big kid... 3T pants, although length wise he really needs 2T, and 2-3T shirts.  He probably weighs as much as Gia at this point.  He wears size 6 shoes and size 5 diapers.

He can put on his own crocks.

He LOVES to be outside.  He LOVES to pretend to mow the lawn.  He will get in his little coop car and pretend to go to the grocery store and get a cookie.

He loves to go see "baby Joey" at the doctor's office because it means he gets a sucker.  Dr. Davis gets a huge kick out of it.

 He loves on Gia's baby doll... just getting ready to be a big brother!

 "Shhhh, baby.  Night night!"

 

Trey is definitely still a big fan of mama... he gets jealous if I hold other babies and wants me most of the time.  However, lately Bobby has spent a good bit of time with him because of their date and my stomach bug, and he has become super attached to Daddy.  This is a great thing since Joey is coming soon and I will need him to go to Bobby often.

His favorite books are The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Ca-pil-uh book) and Pat the Bunny (Bunny book).  His favorite shows are Elmo and Super Why.

We got a new baby monitor system for my baby shower, and it allows us to talk to Trey & Gia in their rooms from our monitor.  He loves to talk to Daddy from inside his crib.  It calms him down and is really cute.

Right now he plays a game with Nana (since she's staying here).  He yells, "NANA!" and she yells back to him, "Trey-bert!"  Super cute.

He doesn't eat quite as much as he used to, I feel like.  He is more picky of an eater lately.  He loves to eat the apples right off our tree, and he still loves eggs and cheese.  He's not a big fan of bread, which is okay with us, but it means that if I need to make an emergency meal of PB&J, he won't really eat it.

His favorite color is yellow and he LOVES airplanes ("big jet!"), so we're going to do the boys' room in gray, navy and yellow and make it an airplane theme.

Special thanks to Brianna Goodwin for the next few pictures from our maternity shoot!