Here we are...

Bradley will be 8 weeks old tomorrow and we are no where close to a schedule. I thought for a while he was trying a 10-1-4-7 schedule, but that was short lived. Oh, well...We have had several good nights and several bad. I love the good nights. I just wish they didn't start so early. I hate going to bed at 8:00, but I do it anyway. That is when I get the most sleep. The other night he slept from 8:30-12:30. 4 straight hours was great. I will also say that he really hasn't had much awake time during the night this week. If he does stay awake I have been putting him down and he has self soothed with a pacifier.

The poor baby is just suffering to death with gas. We burp, and burp, and burp this poor baby, but gas just gets trapped in his little body. Doesn't matter what bottle, what position, what temperature and all the gas drops in the world...nothing helps. We have been giving him Similac Sensative formula which is a Lactose sensative formula for fussiness and gas, but they aren't getting along right now. So, we are on to soy formula today. Two bottles in....we shall see...

Most of you know that Bryant hugs with his head. He leans his head in and barely touches you with it. This is how he shows affection towards his little brother.



Bradley enjoying some stretching time...



The oh so adorable Berry kids, Ruth and Grayson. They came over yesterday for a visit and to drop off a meal for us to enjoy. Sweet family...



I have been going back and looking at different camera videos of Bryant. He was always so fun to watch. So, I took a little one of Bradley for you all to enjoy...

Bryant

I'm in awe of the changes we have seen in Bryant since he turned 2. He is maturing in features as well as personality. He is so smart and has us figured out! He is repeating everything we say so we have to be very careful. He is learning so much and understands what things are and what they are for. For example, he knows his plate goes in the dishwasher...he even says, dishwasher. He knows that he needs toothpaste for his toothbrush. He even says, toothpaste. The other night he pointed to my Dr. Pepper can and said drink. I said, yes Bryant that is mommy's drink, but he wasn't satisfied with my response...He was trying to tell me that he needed a drink. He didn't have a cup/drink at the table with his dinner. He can put his shoes on all by himself and he has even started drying himself off after having a shower. We were at the Dr. the other day and he was making faces at himself in the mirror. He does that at home too, but this time I got the picture...



Enjoying a sucker from his stocking...






He has picked up on some of the things we do to care for Bradley and has begun imitating what we do. He will hold and rock his stuffed Clifford, Curious George and Scout. He also puts them in the bouncy seat or swing and says they are nite-nite. He even pretends to feed them.

I arrived early on Tuesday to pick Bryant up from MMO and they were coming back from a walk around the church. He was holding the rope ring!!! in line with all of the other kids. If you recall a past post about the rope ring you will understand this is a big deal. I about lost it, cried... I had to dart out of sight really fast so he didn't see me and come running.

I was just sitting here thinking about him and had to share all of this with you.

Kacky's "Ka-Ka" visit

We've all had a good time with our Kacky here this week. Bryant has stuck to her like glue and Bradley has gotten the "spoil" treatment. I've been telling Bradley not to get used to it, 'cause Mama won't spoil him. Bryant is becoming a little worker bee around here. Bryant helped Kacky make the bed, curl her hair, give Bradley a bath, wash dishes, etc. this week and in his down time he learned to use Kacky's iPad.



Bathtime...



Cuddle time...



Can I get a smile...



Learning to use the iPad...



Debate...who do I look like?...



Daddy can make me calm and laugh...



for giggles...Bryant laughing at his Da-da, Christmas Day 2009



Sweet baby! Cat nap...

Two good nights

We sometimes struggle to keep Bradley awake during the day so that he will not have his awake time at night. Monday night, he was awake between the 1 and 4 feeding. I can't be mad at him because he has a lot of drainage in his throat. He is having to sleep up right in his chair. Poor baby. That is never fun and very uncomfortable. I am struggling with the same thing so I went to bed early Monday night and didn't even watch the Championship game. Nick and Kathy stayed up with Bradley so I could rest. I was so tired and just didn't feel up for cheering. Thank goodness for DVR.

Last night and the night before Bradley slept from 9-1 then 3-5:30. I can't complain about that....two good nights with no fussing either. Prior to this week his fussy time had been happening in the evening.

I have stopped breastfeeding. Bradley was refusing to nurse at night, so we decided together that it was time to call it quits. He is much happier now. However, stopped nursing hasn't resolved his tummy issues all together. He is still arching his back and fussy with feedings. He is also struggling with gas, so we are going to switch to liquid formula versus powder and see if that helps. We've ruled out position, given him gas drops, used different types of bottles, tried different bottle temperatures...so we'll see if it's formula texture.

Bryant is adjusting very well to his brother being around. He loves to love on him and he even helps me burp him by patting his back. It is so cute. He just grins ear to ear. He can also help put the pacifier in Bradley's mouth. He doesn't quit understand he needs to be gentle, but at least he tries.

Bradley meeting his friends, Adrienne and Charlotte on Saturday 1/7...



Bradley with Momma and Da-da last night...





This morning, Bryant going in for the kiss...



Silly B...



Bryant started back to school this week. I thought it would be hard and we would need to re-adjust since that hasn't been part of our schedule but the past two drop offs have been smooth. He is also doing GREAT with his therapy's. I can really see where occupational therapy is helping. I got to watch him on Monday and he did amazingly well. His speech therapist is now going to his school on Thursdays so I am not apart of that experience anymore, but his therapist assures me that he is doing wonderfully.

This is my last week with help at home. Sad, because it has been great having help, but I think I am ready to see how I fair as a mother of two.

5 weeks

This picture of Bradley was taken on 12/21. Doesn't he look comfy...



He actually doesn't mind bathtime...it's what comes after bathtime that he hates. Here are some pictures from yesterday. I see me and my mom in this face...



Finally, I picture of me and b. Man, I look tired...



A quick update. We decided to give Bradley a hypo-allergenic formula, Similac Alimentum, to see if we noticed a difference in his tummy issues. Why?... It seems like I can't do anything right for him diet wise. I know it's only been 4 days with no dairy for me, but now I am starting to wonder if he is allergic/intolerant to soy. Honestly, I feel like he really doesn't seam to tolerate much...he either spits up or has horrible gas no matter what I eat. And his diapers are just nasty, not normal. So, the only way I know to figure it out is to give him a formula that has neither milk or soy. I would fail at trying to take both milk and soy from my diet so the formula seemed like the best option. We gave him formula for 5 of his feedings yesterday and into the morning and his tummy issues improved! No fussiness and he spit up like a normal infant, whatever "normal" is. He had a bm early this morning and it was a normal formula poo. The poor baby was so confused though. As you would imagine, switching cold turkey to bottle feeding is a bit confusing for him and emotional for me... it didn't help that Bradley really didn't like the formula that much. He ate it and finished his bottles, but had a horrible look on his face. I felt so bad. He didn't finish his last bottle and was so unhappy so I ended up having to feed him. This was at 4:30. Our goal was to use a whole bottle of formula. We didn't quit make it because we are back to breastfeeding this morning. Bradley is much happier. I am still going no lactose so we will see how he does for a couple days and hopefully the diapers will stay normal and mood too. Otherwise, I will make the switch to no soy. Sorry if this is too much information for everyone, but this blog is also a way for me to remember all of this stuff because I know one day it will all be a distant memory.

Back to the boys...Here is Bryant riding his new tricycle outside on Saturday...



and a short cooking demonstration...sorry for the camera movement, but I was bouncing Bradley while shooting the video...