Brennan's First Thanksgiving!

Max, Finn, and Brennan

Ian, Izy, Madison, Sebastian, Brennan, Finn, Max, Quinn, Ashley, Olivia

Full Turkey Belly!

Brennan had a great first Thanksgiving - we spent it in Evansville with the McCool's and it was so much fun! Brennan met all of his many cousins and loved spending time with them. He was so happy and interactive with everyone and of course, everyone LOVED him! :)

Tonight, PJ was holding Brennan and Charlie Brown Christmas came on TV - no joke, Brennan started laughing at the TV, and just kept laughing and laughing and laughing! It was PRECIOUS!

Sleeping...

Brennan was doing so well with sleep - going down between 9-10pm, sleeping 4-5 hours, waking up for a snicky-snack - and then sleeping again until 6-7 and feeding again. I can handle that. Until this weekend - little man decided that he wanted to push back his bedtime to MIDNIGHT - I am not a night person either - are you kidding me? Last night was rough - he went to bed at 12, and was wide awake at 5. And I had to work today. I am feeling it right now for sure! Oh well - he is home with his Aunt Jessie and has been a great napper of course (I wish I was napping!). With a trip to Evansville looming, and lots of new exciting people to meet, I am sure we are going to be off-schedule for a while longer, not that we were really on a schedule......

So I have been trying to start packing for our Thanksgiving trip - are you kidding me, these babies have a lot of stuff and you have to bring it all! My list is a mile long - I know, I know, there are stores if I forget something, but why buy if I already have? I just need to pre-plan - and I keep thinking of things to add to the list. Oh well - it is totally worth it! HE is totally worth it! :)

Better get back to work - just finished a pumping session or a "p" appt as they are designated on my calendar...hopefully people know what I am doing when they walk by and see the "Do not disturb" sign with a Cow's face on my door. Kinda clever huh?

9-10 week pics!

Getting ready to roll over....



Ta da!

I can sit! (with mom propping me up and her hand very very close!)

Such a little man - don't I look like my dad?

Tired baby - just needed a little catnap after all that work :)

My favorite thing...

My new favorite Brennan thing - when I am holding him on my hip and he lays his head on my shoulder - makes me want to cry!

Such a smart baby!

So as many of you know, I have the most smart, bright, and strong baby ever!!! Of course, if you have a baby, he/she is probably great too, but I think Brennan is the greastest! So, about two weeks ago he rolled over from his back to his belly at playgroup and has continued this! Wow! But his brillantness doesn't end there....a few nights ago he was sleeping (yes, on his belly - reserve your comments - that's what we do.) and he rolled over on to his side. Hello - that takes some thinking! And then yesterday he did TWO miraculous things - he was having some tummy time on the play mat, propped up over the pillow (like he doesn't get enough belly time at night, but he loves the belly!) and rolled off of it, on to his back and then over to his side. Smart Baby! But wait, he also is trying to sit and so yesterday I propped him up and he held a sitting position - what a smart smart and very strong baby!

Dr. K informed us that he is no longer a newborn, but a baby, because he is such a strong little guy with excellent head control. I am a proud mama!

Okay breastfeeding mothers out there - question - is it me or does breastfeeding make you UBER thirsty? And I also get itchy armpits (sorry) when I feed Brennan, but not when I pump - can't seem to find anything out about that. BF is going really well still - I am pumping at work a few times a day and exclusively feeding him all other times. No formula supplementing here. My hope is to BF until he is at least a year or so.......of course, we'll start introducing solids at 6 mos, but no earlier unless there is a medical reason to do so, which I cannot imagine.

Anyway - I am very proud of my happy baby - my active, strong, smart, genius of a baby! He must get it all from me. ha ha!

More pics soon...

Back to work

Yesterday I started work again on a part time basis until January - to be honest, I was kinda excited to get back into a more regular schedule. Thankfully, PJ and I have very generous family who has given their time to us for the next few weeks to babysit Brennan (not that we really had to twist any arms - they were chomping at the bit to spend time with him w/o us being around) so we did not have to start daycare thankfully. I wasn't sure how leaving yesterday would be, but it was fine. I took TONS of pictures to my office and decorated it a la' Brennan - frames, on my cabinets, brought an album (which I carried around and made everyone look at). I also called home numerous times to chat with Debbie and see how he was. All in all, he had a great day. Was leery of the bottle, but with the 6 options we had for him, Debbie got one to work! He ate as much as I pumped yesterday - that's my little chunker!

When I got home, he was ready for some mom time though. Unfortunately last night Brennan also came down with a cold - which PJ has been battling and I started getting yesterday as well. He had such a horse cry yesterday and then the nose started running. PJ went out to get a humidifier for his room and a new filter for the one in our room. Not sure if it is helping...

Sleep has been great the past two nights. Wednesday night he went down (in his crib!) at 10:30, woke up to eat at 2:45, and then slept until 6am when he ate again (and again at 7 before I left). Last night he went down at 10pm, woke up at 3am to eat, and then was up at 5:30 (we needed to do some aspirating of the nose and of course, feed him!). It was so great to get 5 hours of sleep in a row. He actually seems to sleep better in his crib than in the co-sleeper or with us (sad), but it is probably a good thing. Now, if only he would love sleeping on his back... :)

At work again today....feeling good about it. Feel so great that family is with him. Debbie comes back next week (hopefully with my dad), then Jessica is on the week of Thanksgiving, followed by Belle the week after T-day, and finally my mom comes the first full week of Dec. Then it's time to start daycare....eeks! Nervous about that for sure!

Two month check up!

It was a big day for Brennan today - first we went to play group, but had to leave early....to go to the doctor for his two month check up and to start (da da da....) shots!

The group picture is of playgroup - there 7 of us that get together every Tuesday (until Jan when I go back to work full time - sad) - each week, we go to someone else's house - have some food, maybe an adult beverage, and lots of laughter (and lots of breastfeeding!).

So PJ and I were really worried about the dr's appt today - as many of you know, we were most nervous about vaccinations and really struggled with what to do. There are just so many unknowns with vaccinations. So we did what we do best - we researched, lots. Lots of reading, lots of talking to friends who both did and did not vaccinate, lots of talking to the doctor, some internet research. And we came up with a plan that we feel fairly comfortable with, though not 100%, again b/c of all the unknowns and LACK of quality research on vaccinations.

First things first.....

Weight - 12 pounds, 11 1/2 ounces

Length - 24 inches

He is in the 75-90% in weight, length, and head size! Big Baby Brennan Boy! That's our future quarterback (only if I decide he can play such a sport - soccer is a little less rough, and cross country is even better!).

And here is what we decided to do with vaccinations:

Opted out of the Rotavirus vaccine - too new and too many unknowns.

2 mos - Hib, DTaP, PC

Will continue those three at 4 and 6 mos.

Delaying Polio and MMR for now....not sure when we will do those. We will, probably before he turns 5, but just cannot say with certainty when.

Chickenpox - if he doesn't get the actual virus before he turns 5, we will have him vaccinated.

Hep A and B - wait until he is older - maybe 10-12 ish..... as of now we do not have a intravenous drug using sex maniac for a son, so we feel comfortable waiting, considering that is how you get it!

We are somewhat concerned with the amounts of aluminum in the vaccines, so are trying to minimize it, though he got more than we would have liked today. Since we opted out of the rotavirus (weren't planning too, but after chatting with the dr, decided it was best), we opted to do three today, rather than just two and saving two for next month. That way we only have to go every two months for now.

Brennan did amazing during his shots. I opted to breastfeed him to minimize the pain and shock. You could see it in his eyes when he got the vaccination, but he just kept eating - at quite a pace (that explains the 12 pounds!) - he let out one wail at the end and has basically been sleeping since. I can handle that.

Amazing

Sometimes I think it is absolutely amazing to think that PJ and I created this child. I see my eyes when I look at him, I see PJ's face, nose, mouth - crazy! And it is amazing to realize how much you can love something that has only been in your life for 8 weeks! Well, 48 weeks if you count in-utero! I just want to cry sometimes when I look at Brennan - so cheesy, but so true.

The laughing baby

Brennan continues to be such a joy! We got great news a few weeks ago at the doctor - perfect hips, so no worries there. We go to the regular doc next week to have his two month check up and start vaccinations. And yes, we are vaccinating, but we are opting for an alternative schedule for various reasons - still working it out. Luckily we have a VERY supportive and open minded doctor who fully supports our decision to make alternative choices for Brennan.

Sleeping is still an interesting thing in our house - Brennan is sleeping in the crib during the day finally - though he is more of a cat napper than anything else - takes lots of 30 min naps throughout the day. Still gets up quite often at night to nurse and sleeps in both the co-sleeper and with us. It works!

Can you believe I start work next week? Just on a part time basis until Jan....actually I am looking forward to it - I am ready to be on more of a schedule! I think it will help with sleep as well - though I anticipate I will spend more of my evenings nursing than I already do!

Oh, get this - Brennan rolled over at playgroup the other day - from his back to his belly - it was amazing - he did it twice, though hasn't done it since.....

He is starting to laugh, which is so cute, and LOVES to look in the mirror. I can tell that soon he will be ready to play with toys, though we are not quite there yet.