Wild Thing

Xavier has become quite an adventurous little guy. He has figured out how to climb up on the couch and will do so all day. Today while I was making dinner I literally had to stop every minute to check on him to see what he was doing. He couldnt just play with the million toys he has, no, he has to run a muck on the couches. I finally put him up in the high chair and made him sit there so I could keep an eye on him. It doesnt stop with the couches. He loves to climb on our coffee table as well. Oh, and today he figured out how to move the gate and went in the front hall to get his shoes.

I have my hands full my friends.

Xavier and His Crib

Xavier has officially been sleeping in his crib for over a week now! It is so exciting! There have been some nights he didnt do very well, but others he slept through the night. Yep, I said it, he slept the whole night! It has been so wonderful to have our bed again and to have a full nights sleep. I havent had one in over a year! Its nice.

Last night he didnt even cry when he got put in his crib. He just laid there and fell asleep. Amazing!

Yesterday.

Last night I went to the movies with Samara. Before I left I asked Jeremy to give Xavier a bath. When I came home Jeremy told me something. This is my take on the situation:

Xavier is let to walk around after he is dried off from his bath, before a diaper is put on.

Xavier: Saying something to Jeremy
Jeremy: What?
Xavier: Saying same thing to Jeremy
Jeremy: Huh?
Xavier: Says the same thing again.
Jeremy: Wha-

Xavier pees on floor.

Dead Animal Smell

Yesterday we noticed a dead animal like smell in Xavier's room. We looked everywhere in that room to try and locate the smell and could not. It seemed to be a little better when we had his door open along with the windows but you could still tell it was lingering. I called maintenance today and they cant sent an appointment with the exterminator. "He'll just call you when he is available.", the woman said.

Really? So I have to live with this dead animal smell until its convenient for the exterminator to come and take a look? What do I do in the meantime? We are trying to transition Xavier to his crib and its crucial we keep up on it or we will be back at square one. This just adds to the list of why I dont like living here.

It's just a phase, right?

Kids grow out of things, right? Say, like throwing things, or throwing things at babies? What I am about to tell you is something I am not proud of and feel extremely horrible about.

Xavier sometimes likes to throw toys and such. It's noting really serious but we try and teach him not to throw in the house. He is only 1 so he obviously can't fully understand his actions. Today was a pretty bad demonstration of that. He took his shoe (for some reason he is obsessed with shoes and will play with them) and threw it at baby Alexander while he was swinging in the baby swing. I couldn't believe it. Here we tell him to be nice constantly and to gentle with the cats and to Alexander and he throws his shoe at him. I was also embarrassed and felt it was more my fault for letting him play with his shoes and not keeping a closer eye on him.

I don't ever remember any of my younger siblings acting the way that Xavier does. Now, I am not saying Xavier is bad all the time but there are things he does that need to be corrected. I just to know how to correct it. I appreciate my parents so much for the discipline they gave us. I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. I just want Xavier to be the same.

Any suggestions on discipline??

6.19.2010

this morning xavier woke up at 3:40am to eat. he was doing fine until about 5 minutes in and he released and started crying. so i burped him and then changed his diaper. when i tried to offer it back to him he didnt want anything to do with it and cried again. i calmed him down and he was happy. i offered it back to him again, same thing. i offered the other side to him thinking maybe he just wanted a change, he ate for about 3 minutes, released and cried and after that wouldnt eat again. this is our routine for eating a lot of the times. it takes a good hour or so for him to eat a good 15 minutes worth. its very frustrating. i try different positions, burp him, clean out his nose, pump and offer him a bottle, but nothing seems to work. he roots around so i know he is hungry but when i offer it to him he doesnt go for it. its really weird.

about 5am we finally went back into the bedroom because it was very clear he wasnt going to eat again and was very content and sleepy. i laid him in his pack n play and he stared at me while i got into bed. within seconds i grabbed him up and put him in bed with me.we were cuddling and he was just staring away at me and i was doing the same back. i decided to try and feed him again, and he took it and ate for a while. finally! after he was done eating he was looking at me and smiled. i started rubbing his cheek and he continued to smile and his eyes rolled back into his head. he was enjoying it and it showed. i rubbed his head and cheeks until he fell asleep.

while he was sleeping i continued to just stare at him. he is so little yet already so amazing. i thought about how no matter how frustrating or how long it takes to breastfeed him, that is the absolute best thing for him and i wont give up. i wont give up.

our first month with xavier

stats at birth:

weight: 7lbs 13 ozs
height: 21.26 inches


stats at 1 month:

weight: 10lbs 13 ozs
height 23 inches

today xavier is 1 month old! it doesnt seem that long ago that i was in the hospital with him! time is flying by fast and it sort of scares me that its going to go by too fast! next thing i know he is going to be asking to borrow the car. eek!

things have been pretty easy since we have had him. he is a good sleeper and for the last week to 2 weeks he has been more awake throughout the day and is more alert. sometimes he is awake after he eats in the middle of the night and that kind of frustrates me, but he isnt crying or anything, just looking around, being cute - so its not so bad. he eats about every 3 hours or so, so i try and stay up for his last feeding before i go to bed. then i only have to wake up once in the middle of the night and then in the early morning. he sleeps with us in our bed in a little cushion that our friends bought us. he really likes it, but sometimes after putting him in it for bedtime he wakes up so he ends up sleeping in our arms, which i dont mind at all.

today his belly button nub fell off, finally! it took so long to finally heal and fall off and we dont know why. i think the first part fell off too early and then while it was trying to heal it kept getting irritated. im glad its off! now he can get real baths!

xavier is a very smiley baby. its probably just gas, but its so cute nonetheless. he smiles a lot and sometimes when he is sleeping it sounds like he is laughing and he has a smile on his face. he makes cute noises when he is happy and when he wants to eat, i love it!  it makes me smile every time!

some of xavier's newborn clothes are getting a little snug on him and he is already in size 1 diapers! we have a sleeper that was too big for him when he was born, fit him maybe 2 times, and is now too small for him.

he loves to snuggle with jeremy. sometimes when i cant get him to sleep or stop crying i can pretty much always give him to jeremy and he will fall right asleep. i love watching them two together. they are adorable.

xavier likes to be in his swing. he makes cute noises when he swings!

we have discovered that xavier likes cobblestone streets. if he wakes up or is being a little fussy in the car while we are on base or near cobblestone streets, we go on them and he calms down right away. he also is really good in a stroller.

our first month with him has been great and we love every moment of it! i cant wait for the days, months, and years to come!

doctor appt 33 w 3 d

today jeremy and i went to our routine doctor appointment. we got there and i did the basic stuff that i usually do but this time they couldnt get my blood. they tried both arms but couldnt get it from either. i dont know why that happens because i drink water all the time, even throughout the night when i get up to go to the bathroom. so its not like im dehydrated. the nurse decided after the second try that we could just try again after the appointment.

during my appointment we had an ultrasound. i asked to get pictures if he had turned. of course he was still facing my back! not only that, but he is now breech! nice. i know we still have time for him to turn so i am not too worried about it. the doctor also asked if we knew what the sex was and we told him it was a boy and he said "are you sure?" so that scared me a little, but he just verified he was a little boy! hehehe the doctor took some measurements and told me that xavier is going to be a big baby! after the ultrasound he told me that xavier is measuring about 6lbs 4oz! i have never ever been told his estimated weight and they told me today! i know that its only estimated but that still kind of scares me. i keep thinking, what if i go early, or what if he is going to be this massive 10 lb baby?! i have about 6 1/2 weeks to go. if he stays in the full 40 or even later i know i am going to have a huge baby! eek!

when we were done i went in for my first non stress test. they strapped these 2 monitors to my belly and i had to sit there for about a half hour. during that time we could hear his movements and he was moving like crazy! it was cool. when that was over, a different doctor came in and talked to us about the epidural and stuff and went over some paperwork i had to fill out. i was supposed to choose whether or not i want the epidural or if i want to wait until i am in labor to decide so i chose to wait. i am still going for the natural childbirth and really hope that i get that.

after that we went out to make another appointment and to get my blood drawn. they got this lady that has been able to get my blood before and i told jeremy that she is a pro at getting my blood and sure enough, she got it with one poke! haha i was happy about that. we set up our appointment for 2 weeks and we were on our way!

that doctor visit was over 2 hrs long! eek! i was pretty tired because i was pretty much up at 5:30 when jeremy got a call on the duty phone. poor guy! i felt bad for him because we went to bed a little later last night because he could sleep in a little bit because our appt was later.

i am getting so excited for xavier to be here, not too much longer now!! this weekend is easter and i am thinking about making a nice easter dinner. the only bad thing is i LOVE ham for easter but jeremy isnt a big fan of it so i am not sure if we will have it. i may have to think of something else and also make ham for me! =) who knows!

bases are loaded....**edited**

yesterday began my 28th week as well as entered into the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy! i am really happy that i am in the home stretch! these last 12 weeks should fly by! =)

there are a few things i am looking forward to in this last trimester and a few im not. i will start off with the things i am looking forward to:

* next saturday we are getting our maternity pictures taken! i am so anxious and hope they turn out great! its going to be nice to have these to keep and show xavier when he is older! - this did NOT happen. we will be rescheduling. since i had to have a heart monitor put on for 24 hrs the sticky things irritated my skin and left it red and very noticeable.

* in the next couple of weeks adam and emily will be having their baby! i am really excited for them! she is due the beginning of march but could come any day now! adam and emily will make great parents and maizie is going to be such a doll! i cant wait for their big day!

* at the end of march we will hopefully be making a big trip. i am not saying where to yet because jeremy still has to put in leave but i really want it to happen. we plan on making this our anniversary trip since i will be about 37 weeks when our anniversary does come around and we wont be able to travel far away.

* the beginning of april, my friend from home, jeremy, is coming back to stuttgart! he has been in the desert for the past year and so im really excited to see him! i havent seen him since 2008! i still think its totally weird that someone i know from home is living in the same town as me in a totally different country!!! =) - he is now coming home later in the month. sad, but at least he will be home before xavier is born.

* april 10th is our baby shower here! i am really really excited about that! its a co-ed baby shower so everyone from jeremy's work will be there as well as our friends chris and sandi and hopefully our friend jeremy. - our friend jeremy wont be there.

* the end of april brings our anniversary and my birthday! i have no clue what we will do those days but probably just dinner out or something.

* xavier can come anytime now! i am really excited! as much as i want him here i really kind of hope he stays in until the 19th of may. jenna is going to be here on the 18th and i really want her to be here for the birth and i know its really important to her! but, he will come when he wants to so he might just be a bully and come early. haha

now on to the things i am not looking forward to (this list is shorter):

** i really hope i dont start losing bladder control and pee myself when i sneeze, laugh, or cough. i have read many posts about women already having that problem and i have not. its weird. maybe i just have a strong pelvic floor?

** i dont want to get sick again. i have started vomiting again but its only been once a day like every couple of weeks so i dont know if its just going to be random or start up full blown like in my first trimester. i really hope not. i dont know how i will be able to deal with trying to give xavier what he needs if im throwing up again.

** more aches and pains! i already deal with a lot of hip and back pain and i know it will only get worse!

thats it for the things im not looking forward to. haha not so bad.

im all alone right now because jeremy had to do a watch again tonight. he wont be home until about 4:30/5am. im really hoping he doesnt have to go to work tomorrow! then on tuesday we have our doctor appointment! yay! after this one i am going to start going every 2 weeks! yippee!!!!

finally got it! =)

this morning i was finally able to get a good recording of xavier moving!!! i was really excited because i had been trying to get a good one for a while but every time i tried you really couldnt see him moving. so here it is:



another exciting thing:

jeremy and finally picked out a crib and changing table for xavier's room! i am so relieved we picked one because i couldnt find one online that would ship to APO and i thought all the ones at the furniture store were not that good quality. i guess i didnt browse good enough the other times because we found it at the furniture store! haha i am really happy about it and now we just have to hope and pray that its in stock and that we dont have to wait MONTHS to get it. =)

what a kick!

ever since i started my 16th week i wanted to feel xavier move. well, week 16 is now past and i am in the middle of my 17th week. i was getting a little anxious on feeling him and was trying to figure out if every little move my belly made was him. i was trying to feel for "flutters" or a sensation like goldfish swimming around. that is what i read and heard it would feel like, so that is what i was looking for.

well, yesterday i felt something a little different. it was like actual kicking. very light, more like popping popcorn! at first, i wasnt sure it was him, because it wasnt what was described to me but after thinking about it a bit, im pretty sure it had to be him! it was right after i ate breakfast so he was probably happy that i fed him! hahaha =) i didnt think it was real at first, so now, if i feel him again soon i am going to be super excited and not over analyzing if its him or not!

i am really happy that i felt him move! now it can only get better. i am getting excited for the day that jeremy will be able to feel him too! =)