Hungry hungry hippo!

Ryland's appetite is increasing!  For the longest time he would only eat 4 oz every three hours (give or take 30 mins).  All of a sudden he's up to 5 oz every three hours!  He will consume at a minimum 24 oz a day and I am only able to nurse/pump ~20 oz a day since returning to work.  This seems like a lot to me, but baby would disagree as he's been demanding more!  :^/  I apparently just can't keep up with my growing little man.  So as of Monday this week we started supplementing with formula.  So far so good, he's taking the mixture without any issues.  I was a little disappointed at first to start supplementing, but then I realized by doing this it took away my stress and frustration to pump a certain amount every day.  Formula is perfectly fine and he's still getting breast milk.  Heck, I managed to nurse/feed him breast milk exclusively for 14 weeks.  I think that's pretty darn good.  Breastfeeding doesn't have to be all or nothing, plus any amount of breast milk is beneficial.  I will continue to pump and nurse my little guy as I do enjoy that time with him.  :)

Finally enjoying tummy time 7/27/11

Peace yo!

Well hello there!  Emma and Ry at Sam's boat 7/24

3 Months

3 months young already (7/18), how time flies!  Ryland has graduated from newborn to infant and he's already showing us his budding personality!  

3 months young 7/18/2011

As of Friday's doctors office visit, Ryland weighed in at 11lbs 14 oz (same as his 2 month check-up).  We had to take him in as he was throwing up his food due to a 24 hr stomach virus, which caused him to drop some weight.  My guess is that he's at least a good 12 lbs or more.  Ryland still hates tummy time, but that hasn't stopped him from rolling over!  He's growing like a weed despite still eating only 4oz at a time.  He outgrew 0-3 months weeks ago and is firmly in 3 months, sometimes even wearing 3-6 month clothing depending on the brand. 

Eyeing the competition



You're so funny!


People are always commenting on his hair, big sweet eyes, and super long eyelashes!  Plus he has dimples!  :)  Ryland loves his hands - they are constantly covering his face and in his mouth, he loves making loud smacking noises with them.  This causes mommy a problem when taking my many pictures.  I really have to work at distracting him or holding his hands down so I can capture his smiles.  He likes to smile behind his hands.


Rock'n my mohawk 7/17



Feet!



What did you do to my hair mom & dad? 7/17


We moved Ryland to his crib in his room at the end of June - 1 week before I came back from maternity leave.  I was a little sad not to have him downstairs with us anymore, and walking up the stairs is a PITA, but he doesn't seem to mind.  :)  He is now consistently sleeping 6+ hours at night.  In fact one night he went 8 hours!  However I think that was also due to the fact that he was worn out from being sick.  He still loves to be swaddled and sometimes it's the only way to calm him down when he becomes over stimulated.  He will actually smile and become very quite when being swaddled.  Ryland is also a pro now at taking showers.



Keeping an eye on that wet stuff 7/17

Look at that shark fin on my head! 7/17

This week starts his 3rd week at daycare.  I really like the facility, plus they have an online web camera so we can check in on him during the day.  Despite Ryland getting sick last Friday and having to stay home, it's been going really well.  Usually daddy drops him off and I pick him up.  Last Thursday I switched with daddy and dropped him off, it wasn't bad at all, and daddy caught it on camera.  :)  My favorite parts of the day are Ryland's smiles greeting me in the morning when he wakes up and holding/picking up my little guy after work. 


Dropping off Ryland at Daycare 7/14/2011



Stomach bug!

It only took two weeks at daycare before Ryland came down with his first illness.  Wednesday I noticed that Ryland's BM's were very watery and clear (i.e. not normal).  By the next day he was back to normal BMs...OK, not too bad I thought.  Then Thursday after work Ryland wasn't keeping down any of his feedings!  Unfortunately for the hubby, he was the one usually holding Rylander when he'd throw up.  Let me tell you an entire bottle coming back up is shocking.  Not to mention he choked up some green bile.  :(  After several outfit changes for daddy and baby and another failed feeding we went to bed.  That night Ryland slept 8 hours straight.  I figured he would have woken up hungry several times as he really hadn't eaten anything, but I guess he was just really worn out from it all.  :(  Friday morning we called the Dr after he threw up his 7am feeding and had an appointment set up for 10am.  He wasn't running a fever, he was acting like his normal self, but he just couldn't keep any food down.  The Dr said a stomach virus was going around that lasted about 24 hours and that could be the culprit.  So we put Ryland on Pedialyte to help with any dehydration and to make him feel better so that he could keep milk down.  He ended up throwing up two more times that afternoon.  Finally after 5pm he seemed to be doing better (24 hr mark).  We fed him 1 oz of milk or Pedialyte every hour from 5-10pm to make sure he wouldn't throw it up.  Poor guy had a rough day, the sad little whimpers he made were heartbreaking.  Finally by 10:45pm he went to sleep.  He slept until 5am and then nursed for 10 mins without any issues, and he was back to having wet diapers!  Funny how checking diapers is the key to knowing if something is wrong or not.  He ate another 2 oz at 7:30am, took a 3 hour nap, and then nursed for a full 28 mins!  I think he's finally back to normal.  :)

Must get this tshirt...

12 weeks young!

Ryland turned 12 weeks young yesterday (7/11).  Such a cutie!

Ryland Rolls Over (video)

Today we managed to catch Ryland, on video, rolling over without fussing! 

Maybe it's the new soft play mat that he likes. :) 

Many firsts!

Ryland's 11th week has been a week of many firsts. 

Ryland started his first day of daycare on Tuesday.  I was a little sad to drop him off but overall it went really well.  I did miss my little guy during the day but I have the happy drive of picking him up after work.  :)  They told me he is doing well and adjusting a little more each day.  After we get home I try to fit in lots of snuggles, hugs and kisses before he crashes and takes a 3 hour nap.  Day care is obviously hard work.  And the best thing is...drum roll...he's sleeping through the night!  Wednesday night was the first time he slept through the night, no feedings or diaper changes.  SWEET!  Then he did it again last night too!  He went to bed both nights around 10:30pm and didn't wake up until 6am.  AWESOME!  I hope he keeps it up.  :)  Rylander also had his first genuine roll over this week (no fluke roll overs on the couch, etc)!  So far he's rolled over a total of 3x's this week on his play mat.  Of course he screams the whole time as he DOES NOT LIKE tummy time, so it will probably be a while before I take a video.  I want him happy and cooing when he rolls over!

It's been a great week but TGIF!  I'm looking forward to spending the weekend with my little boy.

Ryland is being held by the lady in the black shirt - web camera picture 7/8/2011

Ryland is being fed in the bouncy seat close to the door, and that guy standing behind him is Daddy :)

1st day of daycare

Apparently daycare is hard work.

Ryland has been napping for almost 3 hours since I picked him up. 

tuckered out from his 1st day of daycare (camera phone)

Maybe tomorrow I'll remember to take a picture of him AT daycare.  :Þ

Baby's first 4th of July

Ryland had a wonderful 4th of July weekend hanging out with family and friends. :)
Hard to believe that the next day would be my first day back at work and Ryland's first day at daycare.  How time flies!

Visit from Erika 7/1/2011

At our neighbors BBQ 7/3/2011

Just hanging around 7/3/2011

Cousins - Ryland and Blake 7/4/2011

So serious! 7/4/2011

Happy 4th of July!

My Last Friday

Today is my last Friday of maternity leave.  I head back into the office on Tuesday, after the 4th of July weekend.  I can't believe how quickly these past 11 weeks have flown by!  My little guy will be 11 weeks old on Monday and starts day care on Tuesday.  I plan on taking Ryland to and from daycare on his first day, after that Malek will do the drop off and I'll pick him up after work.  I'm wondering how I'll handle it?  I think I'll be OK dropping him off, maybe a little sad, but I don't think I'll cry.  Ryland I'm sure will be a champ, he's had lots of practice being held by friends and family and has always been in good spirits.  It will be nice to get back to the daily grind and adult interaction, but I will definitely miss spending the day with my precious little boy.

Taken with my camera phone - SMILE! 6/29/2011