4 Month Stats

Here we are at 4 months!

• Owen takes a bottle like a champ now a days... eating >20 ounces from a bottle on days that Momma works!
• Owen is sleeping through the night most nights (7 pm to 6:30 am)!  Sweet!  (knock on wood!)
• First ear infection under our belts!  I see plenty of those in our future... boo!
• Weight: 12 lb 10.8 oz (7%)
• Height: 23.75 in (7.75%)
• New tricks: 
• rolling both from back to belly and belly to back
• sleeping on my tummy
• sitting in my high chair while Momma and Dad eat

4 months!

3 months!

2 months!

1 month!

Rough week!

It's been a rough week/week-and-a-half in the Gnadt household.  Probably the toughest week with a child so far!  It all started two Fridays ago, when my mom was here.  She was nice enough to send Nick and me on a date.  We went to Sushi Muramoto and ate until we were stuffed!  We put Owen to bed before we left since he goes to bed ~6:45-7 pm and didn't think he would be any trouble for my mom.  We were so wrong.  Apparently, he was up at 8... needed to be rocked and back to bed he went.  Then, he was up again at 10:30 when we got home.  Rinse and repeat every 1-2 hours throughout the night.  Ugh!  Saturday night was the same.  Come Sunday, we were exhausted!  Then Sunday, he slept!  And thank goodness because we needed the sleep!  Then on Monday, he had shots.  And his ear looked a little funny, so the pediatrician said to come back later in the week if he wasn't sleeping better again.  So, after a long week of no sleep, we went back to the doctor's on Thursday.  Bilateral Acute Otitis Media aka double ear infection.  And my response to the doctor?  "But I'm breastfeeding."  Funny what you say when you are really, really tired!  So amoxicillin at 90 mg/kg/day it was.  And it seemed to be working by the weekend.  Then on Saturday, he had blood in his diaper.  We called the nurse line, and they wanted Owen checked out within 24 hours.  So on Sunday, we went to the peds after hours clinic (before Mason's baptism).  The doctor there wasn't sure if it was the amoxicillin, or the rotovirus vaccine, or a cow milk allergy (insert Sarah panic here- for why see my previous post on my milk stock pile), or maybe a small fissure that we couldn't see.  But he said that his ears were still infected and that we should hold the amoxicillin and see the doctor again on Monday.  So on Monday, we went back to the pediatrician.  The blood in the diaper had been there on Sunday, but of course (and luckily) there was none on Monday.  The pediatrician saw a healing fissure and all was good in the world.  Owen got an injection of an antibiotic since his ears still looked bad and the amoxicillin had been held.  Through all of this, Owen has been a rock star!  No fevers.  Mostly the same happy smiley baby.  Every doctor was amazed at how his ears looked given his demeanor.  He had been sleeping better... okay I take that back.  Now he is not sleeping for a different reason.  Owen is not sleeping as well now, because HE IS ROLLING!!!  And he is determined to be a belly sleeper- he just scares himself when he rolls to his belly in the middle of the night, screams for a few minutes, and then settles back down.  Repeat this cycle ~5 times each night.  At least Nick can help settle him now :) 

In addition to all of this... we did a lot of really fun stuff this week! 

On Saturday, Uncle Aaron completed his very first marathon with a time of 5:07!  Way to go Aaron!  Good job to Megan who also ran the 10k in the rain!

Also on Saturday, we walked with our neighbors in the Madison Area Down Syndrome Society walk!  Harper raised over $2000... probably because she bribed people with high-fives and kisses!  Sorry that I don't have any pictures of the whole group... we were quite the site, all dressed in pink!

Owen at the beginning of the walk

Owen containing his excitement at the end of the walk...

Madison Fire Rescue!!!

On Sunday, best buddy Mason was baptized.  And Heather bought the yummiest cake to celebrate!

On Tuesday, Amos had 5 teeth removed.  A vet in Verona recently diagnosed him with autoimmune stomatitis and recommended removing the teeth behind his canines as the first line treatment.  So to Dr. Loof's we went.  Already, he seems to be happier and has just now realized that there is a baby in the house.  Owen received a lot of head rubs this morning...

Okay and this week's reward for listening to me ramble on and on... a great video of Owen and his new favorite word "zebra!" 

I make milk. What's your superpower?

Okay... I need a little moment to brag.  And I just want to put it out there that I am not trying to offend anyone.  I just need a little moment to celebrate since pumping at work is just plain out no fun! 

Even before I was pregnant, I knew that I wanted to try to breast feed.  I know the benefits of giving your baby breast milk from working in the NICU.  I knew that if we needed to use some formula, it wouldn't be the end of the world.  But deep down, I am really proud of us for getting to this point without needing to supplement.  That's not to say we didn't have our challenges along the way... engorgement, fast let down, and bottle refusal.  We our very thankful that Meriter has a lactation nurse, that our pediatrician is a realist, and that we are personal friends with a lactation consultant (who I did make Nick call twice over a weekend).  Also, thank you to all my friends and especially my mom, who said just go a day at a time, it will get easier.  A huge THANK YOU to Nick who has listened to my anxious insecurities about the whole breast feeding thing.  Initially, it drove me crazy that I couldn't see how much Owen was eating and since every other baby seemed to put on weight so quickly.  Nick was always there to reinforce that Owen was eating fine!  I needed his realistic viewpoint a lot.  Like a broken record he would say, "He's pooping.  He's peeing.  He's sleeping"  Thanks!  Also, thank you to Nancy who hit my car last year and scratched my bumper.  Don't tell, but I didn't replace the bumper with that insurance money.  We bought a chest freezer.  And I've filled that freezer with milk.  Pray to God that the power doesn't go out.  Even Nick has had dreams that our garage has flooded and that the frozen bags of breast milk have floated away. 

Frozen milk... now where to store the bags??

Why the sudden nostalgia about breast feeding?  This afternoon we have our 4-month doctor's appointment where we are going to discuss solids.  We have come such a long way from 2-3 months ago.  And now Owen is even taking a bottle for daycare without an issue...  The boy will suck down 4 ounces in minutes!

My goal is to give Owen breast milk for a year.  But I am being realistic about it, since I am being back at work.  Little goal- 6 months, Big goal- 1 year.  Let's not lie, the whole "eat whatever you want" part of breast feeding is pretty awesome! 

Here is a plug for my neighbor's blog (see "you are the smile to my face" link under blogs I follow)- Kaiti and Andy have an adorable little girl named Harper who was born with a hole in her heart and needed heart surgery when she was roughly Owen's age.  I can't imagine the stress and heartache we would have if we had to go through Owen having surgery on his heart!  Kaiti and Andy are very strong people indeed!  This Saturday, we are so happy to join them and a whole bunch of other people to raise awareness and money for Down Syndrome research.  Please take time this October to read Kaiti's blog and consider donating to the cause!  Click here to read more/donate to the cause!

Okay... here's your reward for reading!

Practicing sitting in my highchair!

 

Waiting for Gma Char to come play!

Trying to suck my thumb and put my toy in my mouth! 

Corn Maze!  All bundled up! 

At the pumpkin patch!

At the pumpkin patch with Best Buddy Mason!

Who me?

The Stomach Flu

This week was awful in our house!

On Monday night, I thought I just had a tummy ache and did not take care of myself (stayed up to watch that awful Packer game, ate chocolate raspberry popsicle).  At 0130, I was up puking into the bowl I had gotten out!  At 0415, Owen was starting to move around, and I still felt like garbage.  So Nick got up to thaw some milk for Owen.  I had to pump, so I got up to gather my supplies... and threw up all over the kitchen.  Tuesday was a long day!  Nick stayed home, and I called in sick and spent the day napping on the couch.  Nick took care of Owen.  All I had to do was feed him.  By Owen's bedtime, I was feeling better and had even kept some rice down!  How did I repay Nick for being such a great guy?   I gave him the stomach flu!  Wednesday was Nick's turn to call in sick and spend the day on the couch.  Luckily, we didn't give it to Owen!  Let me just say that the stomach flu is hard work with a three month old! 

I am thankful that Nick was so willing to pick up my slack!  This week was hard, but having such a great husband made it a lot easier!  Owen and I are lucky people! 

Oh... did I mention that Owen rolled both directions (tummy to back and back to tummy) on Monday night.  Did I get a chance to video tape it... nope!  And he hasn't done it since...

Okay... here are your pictures!

Hanging out with Aunt Bridget!

All bundled up!

Michael is getting so big!

Always asleep!

Practicing sitting!

Sucking his thumb!

This was right before he rolled across the room!