Proof

As I have stated in a few posts, Mateo is not very fond of any of his cool stuff (swing, carseat, bouncy seat, tummy time mat, etc). None of it is cool to him at all. Here is a little video of how things go when I put him in any of them. This is the swing, but you will get the idea.

I don't mind keeping him busy or holding him during the day, but I would LOVE any suggestions of how to get him to not scream his head off in his carseat! We are heading to New Orleans soon and that could make for a very long car ride if he cries the whole time.

So advice and suggestions are VERY welcome from any and everyone. What have you done if your child hates the carseat?

Friday Photos

Here are a few pictures I took today.

This first one is Mateo napping in his favorite spot....in his Boppy on the couch. He slept here yesterday for 3 hours!!

Since Mateo hates his swing, bouncy seat, car seat, tummy time mat, etc, I decided to get his Bumbo seat out. He liked it for a second...

....and then decided he didn't. However, I made him sit there for a minute so I could get a picture of Mateo and Tatum together.

One Month Old...Already???

I am trying to keep up with the blogging, but it gets hard sometimes. Let's see...Mateo is already a month old (as of today) and it seems like I was JUST in the hospital.

Here is a picture from this weekend sometime.

Our leaves got bagged finally this weekend. Antonio's mom sent someone over to take care of them for us. It was much appreciated. I still don't really understand WHY it is so important to bag the leaves. I grew up in the country, so we never did leaves or else it would have taken us FOREVER. The only reason for bagging leaves that I can come up with is to keep the neighbors from giving nasty looks to us because our leaves keep blowing over into their 'leaf free' yard.

My sister's birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated with my parents this past weekend. Here is Laurie holding Mateo. He screamed the whole way to the restaurant cause he hates his carseat, so she was getting him to calm down. Mya was checking out his feet.

This is how Tatum smiles now when we try to take a picture of her...it is either this look or she runs away.

Mckayla shows Tatum the 'proper way' to take a picture. As you can see, Tatum is taking notice on how to do it right.

Mckayla and Mya in their matching dresses.

Grandaddy and Tatum

The group at the restarant singing Happy Birthday to my sister...

I think she got a little embarrassed...

Tatum, Mya, and Mckayla helping Laurie blow out the candles on the cake.

Mateo spending some quality time with Grandaddy.

Mckayla wanted to hold Mateo during the whole lunch. I finally let her hold him after lunch. I think Mya looks so sweet holding down the blanket so she can see Mateo's face.

The best attempt to get all the grandkids together in a picture.

Tatum dressed up like a princess one night for us. She is REALLY into this dressing up.

We finally started bathing Tatum and Mateo together and Tatum LOVES it. She tries to help out with him, but it is a bit too much right now. He is enjoying the big bathtub much better than the sink. I tried to keep him covered up with warm washcloths and then clean him fast and get him out.

Last week I had a UTI, I took meds and they worked great until they ran out, so I had to go back to the dr this past Monday and get more meds. They are also doing some tests, so I should hear something back today.

Mateo is doing great at night. I feed him between 8-9 each night and he will sleep between 7-8 hours until his next feeding. After I feed him, he will go right back to sleep and will usually sleep for another 5-6 hours.

We have also transitioned him into his crib at night. There have been a few nights that I have given up and put him in bed with me so we can both get some sleep, but for the most part, he is doing well in there.

Life is great. I am DYING to get back in the gym so I can lose some of this weight since it is holding on for dear life. Before I got pregnant with Mateo, I was working out 4-6 times a week and actually enjoying it for the first time in my life. I miss it and hope I can jump back into it at least 3-5 times a week.

Antonio is still a HUGE help with the kids. When he gets home from work, he will let me leave for a bit to run errands and then I can pick up Tatum from school. He has also been cooking alot for us so we arent eating out so much.

Tatum is doing SO GREAT with the potty training. She will poop and pee in the potty. She tells us she has to go and off she runs to the potty. We even bought a little potty cover to put in her diaper bag and carry when we are out and it has come in handy several times. Antonio has also let Tatum run around in her big girl Elmo panties several nights. While she did pee on the couch a few nights ago, other than that, she hasn't had an accident. She HATES her diapers (doesnt mind the pull up as much) and everytime I am changing Mateo's diaper, she will just look at him and say "EEWWW!!! EEEWWWW!!! EEWWWW!!" like 100 times. It is so cute and I am trying to get a video of her doing it, but she gets very distracted when the camera is in my hand.

I guess that's it. Life is getting back to 'normal' whatever that is. I am still going to be off of work for a few more weeks, so I am just trying to enjoy each day.

Craziness

I haven't done a blog post in a few days, so I thought I would do one very quickly before I have to feed Mateo again.

Things around our house have been pretty crazy. The lack of sleep is catching up with me slowly, and I have had a migrane/headache since about Friday of last week. I can still function, so that is good, but the 'around the clock Tylenol' is not helping much. I am going to take some of my migrane medicine tonight, but that means I won't be able to feed Mateo for a couple of feedings. Good thing I have a few feedings stored up already I guess.

I also came down with a NASTY UTI on Sunday night. Monday I was getting sick, running a fever, feeling very light headed, etc., so Antonio called in reinforcement and my sister in law came over to watch Mateo all afternoon so I could rest and soak in a hot bath. Eliana also kept Tatum overnight Saturday, so she has helped us out alot this weekend! It was much needed and I am feeling much better today thanks to all of that and the meds too of course.

Anyway, I have been slacking in taking pictures of Mateo, so I took a few this morning to post. These first 3 are in his crib with his 'friends'. I totally stole this idea from someone and I am pretty sure that I stole it from Kimberly. I think she did this when Adalie was little?

At first he didn't mind hanging out in his crib....

....but I think he quickly realized that I wasn't holding him and he thought I might leave him there...
....and Mateo wanted OUT!

We have also been spending time on the mat everyday just a few minutes until he gets used to it. He is doing much better.

He is also doing a little better in his carseat. Sometimes he will sleep the entire time and sometimes he will scream for the entire car ride. Here are some pics from Saturday night when we went to Babies R Us.

...yes, his hat is in his eyes, but if he didn't mind, then neither did I.

And finally, I know I have been horrible about getting pictures of Tatum, but she isn't here all day and then by the time she gets home, our house is rather crazy. Anyway, she was eating dinner the other night and I asked her what she was eating. She decided to SHOW me instead of telling me.

Until next time...

Tatum and Mateo

I tried to find a few pictures to compare Tatum and Mateo. Here are just a couple....

The first 2 are when they were both in the hospital and taking their hearing tests....(Tatum is in the pink, Mateo on the brown and blue blanket). As you can see, Tatum had lots more hair when she was born.

These next two were taken in the hospital with both of them too. I think they DEFINITELY have the same nose and maybe the same lips(I know you can't really see Tatum's lips in her pic.) The eyes are still a mystery...Mateo doesn't keep his open very often. He is either sleeping or crying and I can't decide on his color yet since there is still time for them to change. Anyway, I do think they look a lot alike.

This last picture is just one of my favorite ones of Tatum. Check out her mohawk!

So, what do you think? Do they look alot alike to you? I also think Mateo is going to have a natural tan like Antonio and Tatum has my SUPER white color.

2 Week Checkup (a little late)

As you can imagine, life is crazy these days. Let me do some updating...

Mateo was jaundice, so we did lots of running to the dr's office the first couple of weeks. He finally go cleared last Wednesday from all of that.

This past Monday, we took Mateo to his 2 week check up. Here were his stats...

Weight: 8lbs 2oz. (up 1 ounce from birth weight)
Height: 20 inches (up 1/4 inch from birth)
Head Circumference: 36.5 (not sure what it was at birth)

All of these are in the 50th percentile.

So, I MAY have done a little too much holding Mateo over the past couple of weeks and I am sure paying for it this week. He will not sit/lay anywhere unless it includes me. He hates his swing, bouncer, tummy time mat, bassinett, etc. He will not sleep at night unless I put him in the boppy pillow in our bed. He has been sleeping in the boppy pillow for the past week or so (I know he isn't supposed to.) SO, if anyone has any ideas of things that might work, let me know. I HAVE to get some sleep, so I have been doing whatever works. I looked back and Tatum was in her crib at 3 weeks.

Here are some pictures of Mateo sleeping in his boppy pillow...

STRETCHING....

We finally had a GREAT reason to get out of the house for the first time as a family of 4. One of my best friends, Jennifer, had a birthday this past weekend...her 30th. We decided to get out and meet them for dinner Saturday night. Here is Tim, Jennifer's husband, holding Mateo...

And Jennifer, the birthday girl (and soon to be mom), holding Mateo. We LOVE going to dinner with them. Jennifer and Tim love Tatum and Mateo so much and are very patient with them even when they are not being on their best behaviors. They have also kept Tatum many times overnight, so Tatum gets some extra spoiling. Jennifer was so kind Saturday night and held Mateo so I could enjoy dinner.

It took us about 3-4 hours to get ready to get out the door. I know that sounds crazy, but I had to feed Mateo, take a shower, Tatum had to have a bath, Antonio showered, we all got ready, packed diaper bags, and I fed Mateo again right before we walked out the door. I am hoping we can cut this down a little bit, but I don't know how to right now. (Once again, if you have suggestions, let me know.) We are going to try to go to church this Saturday, but Tatum will be at Aunt E.E.'s so it should go a little faster.

Here is one more picture of Jennifer when she came by the house to see Mateo one day after work. I think she is ready for her baby boy, Luke, to get here. Until then, Mateo sure loves the spoiling she does!

I guess that's it for now. I haven't done a great job of taking pictures this week. I will try to be better!

Proud Momma...

As you can imagine, things have been CRAZY around our house. We are trying to adjust to being a family of 4. Some days are easier than others, but I will blog about that later.

I wanted to post a very quick blog to say how PROUD I am of Tatum these days. She always seems to surprise us with how easily she can adjust to change. She is such a big help aroud the house and will do things to help us out with Mateo (get a diaper, sing to him when he cries, etc).

Since Saturday, Tatum has really kicked potty training into overdrive! Saturday and Sunday she went to the potty (and used it) every time with only one accident. Monday at school she didn't get such a good report, but Tuesday she only had one accident again. Today she used the potty EVERYTIME they went at school with no accidents!! We have not been pushing it much since we are just trying to survive day to day, but she will come tell us when she has to go, so we take her. I say she is having "accidents" but I don't know if that is what I should call them since she is still in diapers.

Anyway, she is doing great and we are very proud of her! I would post pics of when she potties, but I am sure most of you don't want to see that.

I will try to post new pics of Mateo soon. We had his 2 week check up this week too, so I need to update about that. It just seems like I have NO time these days! I am doing good if I can get showered and brush my teeth everyday!

Mateo's 1st week...

Mateo is one week old today and it seems like time has been flying by. I have tons of pictures in this post, so I will try to tell about out week through the pics...

This first picture is of Tatum holding Mateo. I am pretty sure i posted it before, but it is too cute, so I am sure you guys won't mind seeing it again...

Mateo ready to go home from the hospital...

This is what Mateo thinks of the carseat...

After we got home from the hospital, Mateo slept pretty much the whole day.

Tatum will NOT pose for a picture anymore for me....that is unless it is posing for a picture with her and Mateo. This was on Wednesday when she got home after we got home from the hospital.

She sure likes to keep an eye on her little brother. She is doing so great with him.

Tatum says..."CHEESE!"

My friend Brandy came over to visit/meet Mateo. This is such a great picture of the two of them.

My dad was unable to come to the hospital last week since he was out of town, but he hurried home to meet his first grandson on Thursday.

My mom and dad brought a birthday cake for Mateo. While Mateo didn't get to enjoy it directly, I made sure to eat enough so that he would get to taste it.

A close up of Mateo and his cake...

I asked one of the nurses if she thought Mateo was jaundice, and she thought he was, so she suggested that we take him to the dr on friday. Friday we dressed him up to go. Here is a picture before we left. (this was also his go home outfit from the hospital)

He does have jaundice, so we now have this light he has to spend lots of time with in order to get his levels down. He actually loved it the first day. I think he spent all of his time on it unless he was eating. Here is our little glow worm...

He has also been our little night light in our room too.

This next picture was on Saturday because we had to go back to the dr.

Antonio and Mateo like to nap together on the couch. I think it is precious.

Uncle Matt (my brother who Mateo is named after) and his fiance Stephanie came to meet and visit with Mateo Saturday afternoon. Mateo managed to sleep the ENTIRE time they were here. As you can see, Matt was a little (a LOT) nervous about holding Mateo, but Mateo didn't mind, he was sleeping!

After a little time, Matt warmed up to holding Mateo.We TRIED to get Tatum to slow down enough to take a picture with Stephanie, Matt, and Mateo, but she was too busy. HOwever, I did snap this picture.

Since Mateo can't go anywhere, it is much easier to take pictures of him. Here are some random pictures from Sunday.

This is another picture of Antonio and Mateo napping on the couch. Antonio didn't want me to take his picture, so I just got Mateo. I know it looks like Mateo is naked in most of his pictures (and he is) but that is because he has to lay on his light with no clothes on. When we take a break from it, we just swaddle him and wrap him up in a blanket to keep him warm.

This last picture is from today when we went back to the dr again.
This first week has been pretty good. Our first day home, Thursday was New Year's Day and Tatum was out of school, so it was pretty crazy. Antonio entertained Tatum and took care of her every need, and I tried to do the same with Mateo. I must say that Thursday was the HARDEST day so far. I am attempting to breastfeed again, but my milk had not come in yet, so there was LOTS of crying going on from Mateo. I am SO THANKFUL that the nursery nurse from the hospital suggested that we suppliment with formula until my milk came in. It was sure a life saver for us all. We would give him 12cc of formula through a syringe after I would feed him.

Friday, Tatum went back to school. Antonio was home with me. It was a much smoother day. My milk came in Thursday night sometime, so we didn't have to worry about the formula or anything. We even got to get out of the house and go to the dr.

Saturday and Sunday were pretty low key. We have just been trying to keep Tatum and Mateo happy. I don't know what we would do with 3 kids. Right now, Antonio is playing with Tatum non stop and she is LOVING it. I am trying to keep up with Mateo and sleep when I can.

Nights are going pretty well. We are doing about 2 feedings per night. One feeding Mateo will stay up after for a couple of hours (at the most). However, the other feeding, he will sleep for 5-5.5 hours. While this is great, I usually wake up in pain and have to wake him up to eat.

Breastfeeding is going pretty well. I definitely have enough milk for him (I didn't have enough with Tatum) however, the pain is killer at times. It has been pretty good throughout the week, but it is getting worse, not better. (if anyone has any suggestions, let me know).

While I was pregnant, I constantly worried if I would be able to love another child like I do Tatum. I am glad to say I love Mateo so much and I should not have been concerned at all. I love them both so much and better yet, I love them TOGETHER!!! Tatum loves Mateo and it just melts my heart to see them together. She is such a big help. She likes to help change his diaper (she will take Mateo's dirty diapers to the trash). She will also sing him songs (usually her ABCs) when he is crying. I don't want them growing up too fast, I can't wait for them to get a little older where they can interact with one another.

Well, I guess that is it for now. It is feeding time again.