I ♥ Faces: Bundled Up

Since my last post...

Riley has grown - he weighs 15.5 lbs and is 21.5 inches tall. He's been giggling non-stop, reaching and grasping toys, straightening and locking his legs (standing when with our help to keep his balance) and reaching and grasping toys. He's also sleeping through the night pretty consistently. Mommy and daddy couldn't be happier!






We also (finally) had some family pictures taken to use in Christmas cards. I'm just not sure if I'll have time to get Christmas cards out, so I figured I'll just post the pictures for now. Mark took them, if you're interested in having some pictures taken, go visit Mark here.










Some of Doug's work was published in a magazine. Go to www.theinovator.com to see pictures. You can find the magazine in any bookstore up until about the second week of December. It's the November issue of Practical Web Design. Go buy one, take a picture of Doug's article, and put it up on your blog. Doug will be proud.

I got a (sort-of) promotion at work. I applied for a coach's position and got it, but the job opening has been postponed as a result of changes in the placement for one of our kids at school, so I won't be starting until the placement changes or there is another opening for one reason or another. I'm excited though, it will be fun. It will also mean a change of scenery because I'll be going to a different room.

Christmas is coming! Luckily Riley will is getting to the point where he's old enough to play with toys, so Christmas shopping is gonna be LOTS of fun for this mommy. And of course all his grandparents... he's gonna be a spoiled little boy for sure! Good thing I know lots about behavior... I have a feeling I'm gonna need it!

Until next time, keep updated with the many pictures of Riley at www.dougnml.shutterfly.com

<3

Not Me Monday

so i decided to find a "blog theme" to use everyday since i never blog for lack of interesting things to say.... =o) I got monday's idea from my charming kids... go check out her blog! Monday's blog theme is:




Although I am sure you are probably convinced that I did, I promise you that today I definitely did not:

Turn my alarm off three times when it began to sound at 5:30am, giving me an extra 27 minutes of snoozing bliss. Not me!

And I swear I did not "forget" to pack my lunch this morning and have to make a stop at Giant to buy something so much more tasty and unhealthy than my normal salad and applesauce. No way, not me!

I absolutely did not even think of taking my sweet time on the progress notes at the end of the day so someone else would have to help. Not me! I would never!

What's more, I surely did not, nor would ever imagine, giving my son his dinner bottle an hour early so that he would take an early nap, giving me a chance to eat my dinner in a more relaxed fashion. Not me! I'm a much better mom than that!

Lastly, I'm convinced that tomorrow I will confidently be able to say that the day before I could not and did not take advantage of my amazing husband for a few additional minutes to take a nice long bubble bath. Not me! I'm a diligent and giving wife!

And a do swear I did do some good things today...

8 and a half weeks...

Things are going well in the logan household...

Riley is only waking up once during the night - usually around 2:30 or 3. He eats like a champ and falls back asleep until it's time for him to go to grandma's for the day. He's smiling a lot and he holds his head up really well. We rarely have to hold it for him. His little personality is starting to show, he's gonna be laid back just like his daddy. (thank god he didn't get the high strung attitude that mommy has)

I'm working on our living room, a little remodeling and painting. I'm determined to have most of it done this weekend and I'm gonna work on the middle room next weekend. I'm on track so far and excited to see it done!

My mom is coming to visit next weekend to see her little Riley. She's barely gotten to hold him, so I'm excited for him to get to know his Nina.

Otherwise, not much new happening. Work is going well. I really love being back with the kids. I forgot how much fun it is to interact with them, work with them, and watch them make progress. It's so amazing to watch them learn how to communicate effectively an see how much of an impact that has on their personalities and their behaviors. All the physical and mental stress is worth it when you get to see these kids making progress!

Here's Riley at 2 months! He's getting so big!

7 weeks old...

So life has been absolutely crazy! Riley is doing very well. He is getting extremely big and has been sleeping well and starting to smile lots and lots when we talk to him and play with him. It's amazing to see him interact with us. I feel as though every time he grows a pound, my heart grows another inch bigger. I'm beginning to love him so much it almost physically hurts. Yes, I know I'm cheesy, always have been!

So I've been working diligently on Riley's first scrapbook and I'm super proud of it. I only have one more page (technically two because I create two page layouts) left to do. I was trying to decide which picture to put on the back page considering it's only one page instead of two, and when I was looking through my file of pictures I came across a letter I wrote to him the night I first felt him moving inside my belly. I thought since I can't really think of much to write on here, I would share that with all of you, so here it is...

Riley Douglas:

From the first moment I saw the little flicker of your heartbeat on the screen, I knew you were well on your way to becoming the absolute essence of my life. Tonight I felt your first swift kick to the inside of my abdomen. It just a moment the abstract thoughts of having a life in my growing belly turned into the reality that soon I will have a tiny baby in my arms. A tiny baby that is half me and half the most amazing man I know. I am frantically waiting to see your handsome face. I cannot imagine loving you anymore than I already do, but I know that the touch of your soft skin against my lips and the sound of your tiny little voice will only add to the growing ocean of my love for you. My dear son, my deepest hope for your life is that of love. Love that comes into your life through every crack and crevice and corner. Love that never ceases and refuses to leave you even when you try to escape it. Love that does not give up on you, does not betray you, and does not abandon you. I wish for you the strength and courage to love after you've been disappointed. The courage to continue to be the wonderful man you were created to be even when you feel as though the world has left you in the dust. I wish for you empathy, compassion, and kindness towards others. I already know God has given you a big heart, I wish for you the motivation to use it. I wish for you a bright and stable mind. The type of intelligence that will make it effortless for you to succeed in whatever you set out to do. I wish for you an ease to forgive those who hurt you, whether it be purposefully or unintentionally. I wish for you safety, that you would allow angels to follow your every move and keep you out of harm's way. I wish for you a sweet, beautiful wife. That you would find in a woman everything you've wished for and that you would know it the moment you see her. People will hurt you and disappoint you. At times you will fail. There will be times you will be sad and tired and want nothing more than to simply give up. For those times I wish for you the strength and endurance to keep going - to try again. You can do anything and be anything you wish to be. You create your own life, don’t let others dictate it for you. Be strong. Be stable. Be kind.

I wish for you nothing but absolute happiness.

I love you.

Again, I know I'm' cheesy, but I'll appreciate reading it when I'm old and grey. Hopefully there might be a short stage in his life when he appreciates it too =o)

I will have new pictures soon. I have a ton on my camera but just haven't had time to take them off. I started work (full time) on Monday so it's really been pretty crazy around here. Hopefully as soon as I get into a pretty good routine, I'll have more time to myself. (Not likely though)


P.S. I forgot to mention - Riley is pooping like a champ! No problems there anymore and he usually sleeps about 5 hours at time during the night which means we only have to wake up one time while we're sleeping! Yipee!

Constipation

So, this mommy is starting to lose her mind. My child will not poop and will not sleep. I feed him his bedtime snack, rock him to sleep, and lay him in his crib. I usually wait a few minutes to make sure he stays asleep and then go crawl into bed. It takes about 15-20 minutes (not even enough time for me to fall asleep) and I hear him over the monitor grunting and whining and in less than 5 minutes he is full-out screaming his lungs out. This happens throughout the ENTIRE night with screaming that sounds so painful it tears my heart out. His poor little face turns dark red and his little body gets all crunched up. His only comfortable position is on his belly or hugged against mommy or daddy's chest. He sleeps every few nights when we give him a suppository, but the doctor says only to do that every 3rd day. Usually when we give him a suppository he doesn't pass nearly 3 days worth of stool.

If anyone has any suggestions for relief of constipation besides the following (which I've already tried) please, PLEASE leave a comment.

Things I've already tried:

- soy formula (helped with gas but not poops)
- a tablespoon of apple juice in his bottle
- a few drops of karo syrup in his bottle
- external stimulation of his anus (yes, as pleasant as it sounds)
- anal temperature
- warm bath
- warm bath with baking soda
- warm bottles of water
- lower abdominal massages
- warm washcloth on his belly
- bicycle legs
- back massages
- keeping him up alllll day so he would be too tired to stay up all night!

Apparently they don't make low iron formula anymore because studies have shown that low iron formulas contribute to developmental delays. People have already suggested it and I've tried to find it.

This really sucks. Thank God for my amazing husband who has sacrificed as much sleep as I have and still managed to balance work, a screaming baby, and a crying wife. He has completely surprised me with his attentiveness and willingness to take care of Riley. I love to watch them together - the two most precious people in my life! I also wouldn't be getting through this without Doug's mom's support. She has absolutely taken on so much of my stress whether just being willing to go buy formula or diapers to have at her house, doing my dishes and grocery shopping, or coming at 5 in the morning to get Riley so I can sleep for a few hours. I'm extremely blessed to have such wonderful people in my life!

But some poop would be nice.

1 month old

Just thought I would make a quick update! Riley was weighed last week and he is a staggering 9 pounds, 9.6 ounces! We've definitely got ourselves a healthy, growing boy!

He's been doing great besides a little bit of constipation which leads to keeping mommy up all night. We love him like crazy. Daddy keeps telling him that he's the best thing that's ever happened to us - which is absolutely the case. I will post more pictures soon, we've just been busy trying to get our sleep and all!