Trey at 5 Months

Such a sweetie.  Our Treyby is going to be a heart breaker.  Just look at that face!  I know every parent thinks that their child is the cutest thing in the world, but mine tops them all.  We couldn't be more in love with this chunk.  Here's the lowdown on Trey at 5 months:

• Sleeps pretty well.  We've been putting him to bed earlier and earlier which seems to help.  He's usually down for the night by 8:00 and doesn't get up until 6:00 or 7:00.  We're so lucky! 
• Smiles all of the time.  Dave still gets the most smiles, but he'll pretty much smile at anyone after a few minutes.  
• Laughs and laughs at the weirdest things.  We can't figure out why, but he always laughs when Dave gets home from work at night.  He'll come in, pick up Trey and then Trey will look at me and laugh.  So weird, but it's my favorite part of the day.  
• Still loves his jumper and bouncing while being held.
• Talks and sings and coos to himself.  It's the best way to wake up in the morning.  Most days he just wakes up and talks to himself.  We can really tell that he is finding his voice.  He's starting to make much more deliberate sounds, but we still hear the occasional "ah-goo" every once in a while.  :)
• Is REALLY afraid of sudden loud noises.  He can go from super happy to screaming upset in no time.  It's the saddest thing I've ever seen.  He gets so upset that he just sobs and shudders.  So sad.  :( 
• Still loves Scout and all doggies.  He loves to grab onto Scouts fur. Thankfully Scout is a good dog and won't fight back.  Someday we'll have to teach Trey to "play soft."  Haha.  :)  
• Rolls like a champ!  Still no crawling yet, but he can roll all over the room in just a few minutes.  He is CONSTANTLY moving.  He's going to be a lot of fun when he becomes nobile.  ;)  
• Is usually very content, but does have a very short temper.  It's actually quite funny.  If he doesn't get what he wants, he'll start breathing really fast and making these high pitched whines.  I have a feeling the toddler years are going to be a nightmare.  Oh my.

I'm sure there's more,  There always is.  We love you little Treyby.  

Trey at 4 months: A Belated Post

So Trey turned 4 months old....like 3 weeks ago.  And I'm just now getting to posting about it.  It might have something to do with the fact that I started school right around his 4 month birthday...hence life as we knew it ceased to exist.  But I digress...

Trey turned four months old, in which he became the cutest 4 month old ever.  Here's a glimpse:

4 months old!

Seriously so sweet.  We love him...just a little.  At four months, Trey:

• Still sleeps like a champ.  He started getting back up in the middle of the night to eat, but goes right back down.  
• Naps are still a hit and miss here.  We REALLY like it when he gets good naps, because good naps = happy baby.  
• Really is content most of the time.  We've had several people comment on how he is unusually smiley for his age.  :)
• Daddy is still the favorite.  He's fighting Scout for that spot though.  Trey LOVES dogs. 
• Eats about 6 oz every 2-3 hours.  We tried rice cereal once, but it ended in a HUGE fit.  Trey was not amused.  His doctor says to keep him on just formula until 6 months, so we're in no hurry to add food to his diet.  
• His favorite thing in the world is bouncing.  We got him a bouncer this last week and he loves it.  We love it too because it saves our arms.  Holding him is a workout!  :)
• Will NOT take a binkie.  We've given up.  He's a thumb sucker all the way.
• Laughs and giggles all the time.  

His four month stats were: 

Weight: 14.75 lbs.  36th percentile

Height: 24 in.  10th percentile

He's still little, but he's growing!  It's weird, because people will either comment on how small he is or how big he is. ??  Whatever.  He's perfect.  :)  We love you Treyby baby.

  

Trey at 3 months

• Sleeps like a champ!  Seriously.  For as bad as he was his first month, he sure has made up for it.  He sleeps 10-12 hour stretches.  It's seriously the best thing ever.  EVER!  He's been going down from 8:30-9:30 and often doesn't wake up to eat until 9:00 the next morning.  What a good baby!
• Naps are pretty much a no go lately, but we don't really mind since he sleeps so well at night.  He will go down for a nap a few times each day, but usually only lasts 30-45 minutes.
• He still LOVES his mobile.  He loves to talk and coo at it right after his morning feeding.  
• He talks a lot.  He used to only say "ah-goo", but now his favorite thing to do is squeal.  It's the cutest thing ever and he can be so loud sometimes.  He likes to talk the most in the mornings and when Dave comes home from work.  
• Daddy is definitely the favorite!  Trey gives everyone big smiles all of the time, but Daddy gets them the most, and doesn't even have to work for them.  
• His new favorite activity is looking in the mirror.  He loves it and get's so excited when he sees himself.  I don't think he realizes it's him, but he sure likes that "baby in the mirror"!  
• He still loves his bath.  Bath time is pretty much our favorite time of the day around here.  We call it "Tubby, Baba, Sleepy nigh-night".  Yes it's true, we no longer speak like adults; but I'm sorry, you just CAN'T speak to a baby in grown-up talk.  :)
• He is a MAJOR thumb sucker.  I'm pretty sure that's why he's been sleeping such long stretches at night.  He DOES wake up, but as soon as he finds his thumb, he's back asleep within seconds.   I know I'm going to regret letting him do that later,  but it soothes him.  Plus, how are you supposed to keep a baby from sucking his thumb!?
• Along with thumb sucking, he's taking a liking to blankets and burp clothes as well.  He'd shove a whole blanket in his mouth if he could.   
• He can now roll from his back to his tummy but usually just likes to chill laying in his side.  
• He has his cranky days, but really only cries when he's hungry or tired.  
• He is ADORED by everyone and I can't blame them.  I mean, LOOK at him!  

First time swimming in Grandpa and Grandma Bland's pool.  

Blessing day.  My favorite picture of him to date.

Playing with the baby in the mirror.  Every photo we take ends up so blurry because he moves so much.

Dancing and laughing at the mobile.  

Why just suck your thumb when you can suck your thumb AND the blanket at the same time!?

Loves standing and being outside.  Doesn't he look like a little boy in this outfit!?  AH!  He's getting too big!

3 months old!

Tubby time at grandmas.

2 months

At about 6 weeks old, Trey transformed from the orneriest baby there ever was to the sweetest little turd you ever did see.  :)  He still has his cranky days, but Trey's second month was 100 times better than the first one.  Here's a run down on Trey at 2 months old:

• Sleeps SO much better.  When I wrote Trey's one month post, he rarely ever went down before midnight and was getting up every 1 to 2 hours to eat (kill me).  Now, he goes to bed pretty consistently by 10:30 pm and usually goes 3-4 hours in between feedings.  Some days he's up and ready for the day by 6:00 am and others he sleeps until 9:30!  (Can you guess which wake up time I prefer?)  :)  He still has a few nights here and there where he is up every 2 hours, but they're so much easier to handle now that I know they're not the norm.  Yay for more sleep!
• He's the happiest in the morning (not sure where he got that from!)...his favorite thing to do in the morning is lay on the ground and talk to Dave and I.  He's started to coo and smile at us voluntarily which is SO rewarding.  His little baby noises are adorable and his favorite "word" is "ah-goo".  :)
• He's in love with his mobile and loves to laugh and coo at the animals on it.  It's become our go-to "make Trey happy" device.  
• He's definitely a Bland in the sense that he likes his alone time.  :)  He becomes really overstimulated and fussy when there are too many people and often prefers to be laying on the ground rather than being held.  
• He is NOT a fan of tummy time.  He disliked it so much that he rolled over from tummy to back at about 7 weeks.  We were shocked.  He's rolled over twice, but for some reason refuses to do it again.  He still hates tummy time, but he'll just cry and cry until you give in and turn him back on his back.  
• He is SPOILED.  He's mastered his fake cry and he thinks it's the funniest thing in the world.  He'll fake cry and after about 5 minutes I'll give in and see what he needs only to have him smile the biggest grin ever as I approach him.  He just might have Dave and I catering to his every whim...maybe.
• He is a VERY determined little boy.  He's been this way since birth.  He knows what he wants and when he wants it; and until you get it right, you're going to be screamed at.  :)
• He LOVES to arch is back and stretch his neck while being held.  It's really weird and I've never seen another baby do that, but he likes it so whatever. I guess the ceiling is really interesting.  :)
• He's a thumb sucker.  Or at least he tries to be.  Most of the time he's trying his hardest to get his entire fist in his mouth, but sometimes he manages to only get the thumb; which makes him happy for the .2 seconds that it's actually in there.
• He used to take MAM binkies and now he's more into Soothies.  He really isn't much of a binkie  baby unless it's nighttime.  At nighttime he almost demands to have one. 
• He weighs 11 lbs 3 oz (29th percentile)
• His height is 22 inches (11th percentile)
• His head circumference is 40 cm (42nd percentile)
• SO, he's just a little guy, but he's growing!
• His cuteness percentile is 100, in case you were wondering...  :)

Happy 2 months Treyby Baby!  

Hospital Pictures and Newborn Moments to Remember

These were taken at the hospital right after Trey was born and when he was just a day old.

Wasn't Trey the most beautiful newborn you've ever seen?  I mean, seriously.  He is beautiful.  I finally got around to getting pictures from the hospital from family.  I'm so glad my sister took these pictures.  The ones we got on our camera were so blurry and let's face it, I was kind of a train wreck physically those first few days, so I wasn't concerned with getting pictures of Trey with everyone.  Thanks Car!

Also, I wanted to jot down some memories from Trey's first few weeks before I forget.  These are really simple and silly, but they're special to me.  

• The second night we stayed in the hospital, Trey kept coughing up amniotic fluid.  He did this once while the nurse was taking his vitals so she held him up and turned him to the side so he could expel it easier.  As she did this, he turned his head to face her and gave her the biggest dirty look ever.  We all looked at each other and just busted out laughing.  CLEARLY, he did not like what she was doing to him.  I'll never forget that face.  So funny. 

• Trey was pretty small, so his newborn clothes were huge on him for the first few weeks. (Especially his pants).  We were constantly commenting on the fact that his pants went up to his chest and that he looked like a little old man.  We were having a rather difficult evening with him, (Oh the joys of colic).... nothing we were doing seemed to soothe him and I was starting to lose it.  Dave started rocking him and said "What is it?  Do you need bigger pants?  Is that the problem?"  :)  We just laughed and laughed.  It was seriously the best thing ever.  MUCH needed comic relief.  And that's why I love Dave so much.  He was able to take an awful situation and turn it into a cherished memory.

• Again, we were having a rough night with Trey (it's almost like EVERY night was hard),  ;) and we couldn't get him to stop crying.  For some unknown reason, Dave started singing Young by Hollywood Undead, and Trey LOVED it.  Seriously.  He would calm right down while Dave was singing and then get all upset when he stopped.  Dave had a lot of fun singing that song over and over again that night.  ;)  Whatever works, right? 

• We would also often sing our own rendition of Justin Bieber's "baby" song, changing the chorus to "Treyby, Treyby, Treyby, OHHH..."  Can you tell we were sleep deprived!?  Anything for a laugh. :)

• We call Trey "baby" more than anything else, but his nicknames include: Treyby baby, Trey Bae, Treybsters, Little bug, Little Foot, Snuggle Muffin, Pumpkin, Snorts, and Snorts McGee  :)

One Month: My Thoughts As a New Mother

Treyby Baby is now one month old.  We love that little stink more than life itself, but I can say with a certainty that the past month has been the hardest month of our lives.  (I'm hoping it will be the hardest month of Trey's life too).  Here's the thing.  We have a hard baby.  No mother wants to admit that, but we do.  I say this in the most loving way possible, but our baby is a fussy little ball of fire that has the rage of a thousand men.  :) 

He is the most beautiful baby (no really...he IS) that I have ever seen, and it's a good thing too.  I've never been so frustrated and felt so inadequate in all my life as I have in the past 4 weeks, but I know that someday I'll look back on these days and miss them (so everyone has been telling me anyway).  And you know what, they're right.  Even now, I'm thinking about his first few days and I just get all mushy feeling inside (is that even a thing) and my heart grows for this little boy.

You see, as hard as it is to go days and days without sleep, it's harder to feel like you can't soothe your baby.  I mean, that's basically what I'm MADE to do, right?  It's heartbreaking to feel like you're trying everything in your power to make your baby happy, and he's just not.  He's mad, and you don't know why.  I KNOW I'm not saying anything that any other parent hasn't said, but this is new for me, so now it's my turn to say it.

Trey's first month was hard.  That's the best way I can describe it.  He seemed to be in pain non-stop for the first few weeks.  His poor little stomach would become rock hard and he would fart like nobody's business.  All. The. Time.  Seriously.  Who knew so much gas could come out of such a tiny little thing?  The only time he was content was when he was sleeping or eating (which he wanted to do every hour or so).  If he was awake, he was crying.  After days of no sleep, you can see how this would become a little frustrating. 

I was breastfeeding him exclusively (More on THAT later), so we thought maybe he was allergic to something that I was eating.  I stopped eating dairy but that didn't seem to help him at all.  Then, two weeks after he was born my milk started drying up.  I tried to keep my supply up, heaven help me, I did; but nothing seemed to work and I was starting to feel like I had been starving my child the past two weeks.  We decided to start giving him formula and it was truly the best decision we could have made.  He's been on the formula for a little over a week now and he's s.l.o.w.l.y getting better.  He's still a little stink, but he's getting to be a cuter little stink.  :) 

I DO have fond memories from the past month, but I would be lying if I said it was the best month of my life.  My body is a war zone that I fear will never be the same.  Breastfeeding was a nightmare and to be honest, I don't miss it.  The first two weeks were awful.  I remember everyone telling me "Oh, you'll just love nursing.  It's such a bonding experience."  NO.  No it wasn't.  He had the hardest time learning to latch and I was in constant pain.  I WANTED to love it, I really did.  I kept reading that after 2 weeks it will all of a sudden be great so I was just holding out for that two week mark.  It finally got to the point where I didn't cry everytime I nursed and then I started to produce less and less and I stopped nursing him.  Of COURSE it starts to feel better when I no longer need it to.  Ha. 

After Dave went back to work, it was really hard for me to be at home alone with the baby.  Has anyone else gone through that?  Scout took the transition pretty hard and wouldn't even look at me for the first week we were home.  SO heartbreaking.  I would be so overwhelmed and trying to soothe Trey and all Scout wanted to do was sit outside.  I'd put Trey down and try to compose myself (who knew, MAYBE Trey just wanted to be left alone.  Maybe THAT'S what would get him to stop crying!?).  ;)  I'd go to give Scout snuggles because he always makes me feel better and he would walk past me and go downstairs into his kennel.  I know this sounds so dramatic, and it is; but at the time, it was so hard.  I don't know why Scout hated me so much, but he did.  He didn't have problems with anyone else, but he was super pissed at me.  Thankfully, he's getting used to the baby and will let me touch him now.

I found that the best thing for me was to get out of the house.  Going to my parents became a daily activity and it SAVED my sanity.  Just getting ready for the day and getting out of the house was the best medicine.  I think Trey liked it too because he seemed to be better when we were "out and about" rather than just sitting at home.  I KNOW I'll have a hard time going back to teach in the fall, but I also KNOW that I need it.  That sounds really selfish, but I NEED that interaction.  I think I would go crazy being a stay at home mom.  At least at this stage in life.

We've had a HUGE amount of help from our families and are so grateful that we live so close by.  Trey is the first grandbaby on both sides and boy is he LOVED.  Thanks so much to everyone that has brought meals, come to hold Trey so I can shower :), and listened to me rant about my life.  I really don't usually complain this much, I promise!   

This post was all over the place and makes no sense, but I kind of like that because it emulates what the past month has been for us.  Unstructured, unorganized and messy.  As negative as this post was, I still love that baby more than anything.  There have been so many times where I just want to sit in a closet and cry and drown my sorrows in ice cream; but when I see that face, my heart melts and I hold him to my chest and am so thankful that he is mine.  Happy one month little guy.  We love you.

The Birth Story: Part Three

I was so relieved to be admitted to the hospital.  Yay!  My day spent in pain wasn't for nothing!  :)  I have to admit, I was pretty proud of myself for getting to seven centimeters without any interference, but that sure didn't stop me from getting an epidural.  I had considered going natural throughout my pregnancy but told myself that I wouldn't allow myself to feel bad if I couldn't do it.  By the time we had gotten to the hospital, I was so tired and exhausted, I requested to have an epidural before I even knew how far along I was.  

 

I'm really glad I let them know as soon as we got there.  Shortly after they checked me my water broke and OH MY GOODNESS; My pain went from "ouch, this really hurts" to "OMG, I can't breath, help me, HELP ME!!"  Haha.  Dramatic I know.  I couldn't believe how much worse it got once my water broke.  Dave was so amazing and stayed up by my head rubbing my back and helping me breath through the contractions each time.  Our nurse was also amazing.  I'm so sad that I can't remember her name, but she was seriosuly awesome.  She would always say "You can do anything for one minute." over and over again until the contraction had ceased. 

 

There were two women ahead of me to get an epidural so I had to wait about 20 minutes to get mine.  It doesn't seem like that long, but when you're in pain it seems like eternity.  Once the anesthesiologist got there they had me sit up on the side of the bed to get the epidural started.  I had a huge contraction while sitting up (OUCH), but once that epidural kicked in I felt amazing.  I love modern medicine!  They checked me about 10 minutes later and I was already at 10 centimeters!  Wow!  Once I heard that I felt a little silly about getting the epidural because I could have probably gone without it, but I don't regret getting it.  I was so tired and I think it made delivery a lot more pleasant. 

 

At this point, my doctor wasn't even at the hospital yet so they had me rest for about an hour before pushing.  It was all so surreal.  I couldn't believe how fast everything was happening.  I truly thought that we would have come to the hospital; maybe I would have been at like 3 or 4 centimeters, and then we would wait for 10 hours or more for me to progress and be ready.  I don't think Dave expected it to go that fast either.  We were both pretty shocked to say the least.

I started pushing at about 11:30 pm.  I remember it being very calm and quiet at the beginning.  We found out that our baby was posterior and that posed some problems.  Every time I would push, he kept getting stuck and his little heart rate would drop.  It would come back up, but with every push it would take longer and longer to return to normal.  Suddenly, our calm and quiet delivery turned into a rush to get our baby out.  They put me on oxygen and within seconds there were people rushing into our room.  It was stressful, but I honestly never worried that our baby would be anything but fine.  Our doctor was amazing and stayed calm which helped ease my worries.  We ended up having to use the vaccum to get him out, but he came out in no time.

Because his heart rate was dropping so much throughout delivery, they immediately took him to assess him right after he was born.  I was disappointed because I wanted to do skin to skin right after, but I obviously wanted what was best for him.  They cleaned him up and handed him off to Dave.  He was perfect.  He only cried for a few minutes right after and then he was silent.  Dave held him for about an hour while I was being stitched up.  I unfortuneatly tore pretty bad because of how fast we needed to get him out, but I didn't mind.  I'm so glad I got the epidural for that very reason.  I can't even imagine how bad it would have been without one.

Once I got all cleaned up I finally got to hold him.  He was so beautiful and perfect.  He just kept making these quiet little cries.  It took us a few hours but we finally decided on a name.

Trey David Bland
born on 4/20/14
at 12:51 am
6 lbs 6 oz
18.5 inches long