July 31, 2014

Katie & Nadine in 2014: Week 30

Day 204
Fox's first playdate

Day 205
I call this his crunchy face

Day 206
Swim class

Day 207
Shopping with my two loves

Day 208
We were hit by a microburst which resulted in a 12hr power outage. Let me just tell you, it's not fun to not have any air conditioning in the summer in Phoenix, especially with a newborn. Our room was around 81 degrees and everyone was miserable. 
We improvised for a while with a battery operated fan, hoping the power would come back on, but finally surrendered after six hours without power (and sleep) and packed up to crash at Rene's house.

Day 209
Fox started to grab toys for the first time on his own and naturally gave them a taste test. 

Day 210
I always joke that my office looks like a daycare these days. It's super stressful to take him to work, keep him happy AND get work done, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 
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July 26, 2014

Fox | 10 weeks

10 weeks old!
July 23rd, 2014



He loves this stuffed animal, when we place it in his arm, he will just hold it forever, squeezing it to his body and trying to eat the arms!


Poor Baby got his first set of shots. 
At least he got some spiderman band-aids...ha!


He looks so big to me in this picture!
Fox had his first playdate and loved it! 
He was super smiley and loved all of the babies!
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July 23, 2014

Katie & Nadine in 2014: Week 29

Day 197
He loves to chew on his hand!

Day 198
Sweet baby!

Day 199
We had a Show this weekend and Fox and I went to visit Katie at work! It felt so weird to be there, but not have to work and to think that the last time I was there, I was eight months pregnant! :)

Day 200
Cuddles with my boy while watching Harry Potter. Katie had long days at work and was basically gone for five days, so it was just me and my little man!

Day 201
A cup of Fox! 

Day 202
2 month pediatrician appointment. Fox had to get five vaccines, which involved three shots and one oral vaccine. He was not a happy camper! The rest of the afternoon was awful, he was really upset when he was not sleeping, but on the bright side, he slept for eight hours straight that night. The next day, he was back to normal. 

Day 203
Another day at the office...Aunt Ashlie is always so happy to see Fox, and vice versa!
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July 21, 2014

Fox | 2 Months Update

July 14th, 2014





Weight:
12 lbs, 3 oz (36%)

Height:
23.75 inches (72%)

Health:
We went to the doctor once this month, because Fox was wheezing and had a rash on his neck. Turns out it was just a heat rash and nothing to worry about. 

Nicknames:
Big Honey, Honeys, Mr.-Man, Baby Hercules, Baby Hulk (when he gets mad!), Schaetzchen (german nickname), Bubbles, Handsome

Eating:
Breastfeeding is still going well. He usually eats every 2-2.5 hours during the day, sometimes he goes longer, but not very often. He is a quick nurser and will only eat for a maximum of 10 minutes, which always worries me, but he seems to be getting enough.
When he is done, he just closes his eyes and pretends to be sleeping, it’s hilarious. The minute I dress myself again, he is wide awake, but if I try to feed him again…boom, that kid acts like he is sleeping…ha!

That's him, pretending to be asleep! Love that kid!

I can tell when I’ve eaten something that doesn’t sit well with him, he will get VERY upset and refuses to nurse. So far, I’ve had to eliminate blueberries, grapes and tomatoes and I’m also avoiding anything that would make him gassy, like broccoli, cauliflower and garlic.
At night, he goes longer stretches and will eat anywhere from 4-6 hours. We still give him one bottle of pumped breastmilk a day, which is the last feeding of the day (4-5oz). I would like to increase my freezer stash of breastmilk, but it’s hard for me to pump during the day and whatever I pump at night when Katie feeds him the bottle, we use the next night.

Sleeping:
He’s still unpredictable during the day. I noticed that he usually has one long nap in the morning and one long nap in the afternoon, but haven’t been able to track down specific times for them. He cat naps a lot during the day, which makes it hard to get any work done. Some days, that’s all he does, he falls asleep, I put him in his bassinet and he wakes up 10-20 minutes later and this cycle continues for hours.
Luckily, he’s a pretty happy camper, even when he’s awake for most of the day.
At night, he usually sleeps anywhere from 4-6 hours straight. Last night, he even slept for 7 hours, but I’m thinking that this was just a fluke, since he was up all afternoon yesterday and barely slept at all! He usually goes right back to sleep after a nighttime feed, but some nights end at 4-5am for us and by the time he is ready for another nap, it’s time for me to get ready for work.
We bought him one of those lullaby aquariums for his crib and it’s been the best thing we ever bought. Instead of falling asleep in our arms, he will now lay in his bassinet wide awake at night and looks at the lights and fish until he falls asleep by himself!

Diapers:
Still wearing size 1 diapers and I think he’ll be in those for a while!

Clothing:
He’s in 3-month clothes, we had to retire all of his newborn outfits, which made this Mama really sad!

Social:
Fox has been such a joy to be around. He recognizes us and will give us the biggest smile when he wakes up from a nap. He’s super smiley and will “talk” to us as well, it’s the cutest thing.
He still loves his mirror and mobile. He can entertain himself laying on his changing table looking at the mobile for 20 minutes straight, he smiles and coo’s at it.
He’s been to his first social baby outing at 8 weeks old, we went to a baby swim class and he loved it!

Likes:
Looking at himself in the mirror, chewing on his fist (see picture below!), whistling, sitting in his carrier (we have the Ergo), sleeping on his mommies, bouncy seat, bicycle legs, when we sing to him, looking at lights or the fan, rocking in the glider in his room, standing (while we hold him of course :)), his pacifier, and bath time!


Dislikes:
Naps, when I eat certain foods, being taken out of his carrier (he screams bloody murder each time…ha!), his stroller, tummy time.

Mama:
I’m fully recovered from the c-section and feeling great! I always thought I would be exhausted having a newborn and having to get up during the night, but surprisingly I haven’t felt too tired at all.
I’m finally back in my pre-pregnancy clothes (most of them), but still have 10 lbs to lose, which I’m not stressing over. They say it takes nine months to gain the weight and nine months to lose…and who has time to work out these days?
I’m currently working 30 hours a week and it’s not easy, but I’m determined to make it work, because I’m enjoying my time with him so much. I can’t imagine putting him in daycare right now and while I wish that I could be a stay at home mom, that’s just not possible for our family right now. I’m so grateful that I’m allowed to take him to the office and work from home!
I’m so in love with this little dude and I don’t want to miss this fleeting baby stage!

Mommy:
I love watching Katie interact with Fox. They have the sweetest conversations and it warms my heart to hear her sing to him.
She just bought a rocking chair for the living room, because she knew how much he loves being rocked!
We miss her when she’s at work, but send her lots of pictures and videos from our day and she always makes sure to not miss important events, like pediatrician appointments or swimming lessons! 

Fun things we did:
We’ve become much more comfortable taking him places, which has been great. This month, we visited family and friends, went shopping and out to dinner, we took him pottery painting (he contributed by placing his painted feet on a plate ;)) and to see the World Cup Finale (which was short lived, because those “crazy” fans screamed too loud! :)).
He also had his first swim lesson and loved it!

What we’re looking forward to:
More swimming lessons and going to a baby playdate in a couple of weeks! 


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July 18, 2014

Fox | 9 weeks

9 weeks old!
July 16th, 2014

My grandma made this sweater for Fox, it even has his name on it, which you can see in the next picture. I love it and hope he will still fit in it in the fall!




Some outtakes from our 9-week photo shoot!




Another sweater that  made years ago...it's already too small for him!
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July 17, 2014

Katie & Nadine in 2014: Week 28

Day 190
First Time in his Bumbo…still a little wobbly.

Day 191
There's nothing better!

Day 192
First Swim Class

Day 193
Painting Pottery with Katie and my au pairs (Fox was sleeping, but contributed later by letting us paint his feet! :))

Day 194
We went to see the World Cup Finale with some friends. Unfortunately, those crazy soccer fans yelled way too loud and scared Fox, so we left early and finished watching the game at home, followed by dinner with Rene' and Patrick.

Day 195
Some days, this is the only way I get any work done! It's my "go to" when he's fussy and I tried everything else…works like a charm every time.

Day 196
This kid stole my heart!

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