Look what I can do now

Quick Update

I know it has been quite sometime since we've posted something, so for the meantime I'll provide some quick info: Drake has 4 bottom teeth and almost 1 top tooth; he can say both "Mama" and "Dada;" he is pulling himself up on everything and can walk around as long as he has something to hold onto; he can shake his head (although, we don't know if he's saying 'no' or not); he is starting to understand the concept of no (we can tell him not to do something, and GENERALLY he'll listen). Hopefully the blog updates will be more frequent now that Lindsey is a Stay-at-home Mom.

We recently took Drake to a Pumpkin Patch near where we live. The OC Register was there taking pictures and he got one of Drake and I. Since it is the most recent picture, I figured I'd attach it to this post.

We love you all! Bye!

We had an eventful weekend! Drake got to meet his great grandma Ginder (GG for short) as well as his Great Uncle (Grunkle) Steve and Great Aunt Debbie! Also, it was his cousin Addison's 3rd birthday, so Drake went to his first birthday party. He got dragged all over the place this weekend, and he was such a trooper! It makes him so much easier to bring him places now that he is so interested in everything around him, and he is sooo much more interactive with people. It was so cute, on Saturday night we all went out to dinner, and Drake was tired and Grandma offered to hold him while Jason and I ate. He kept stroking her hair, and rubbing his face on it. His eyes kept closing while he was doing that, it was so funny! I guess it was soothing to him.

Also, last week I took him back to the ENT doctor for his ear check up. The doctor said that it's not uncommon for a child to get another ear infection after having the tubes put in after having so many ear infections like Drake has had. He said that Drake probably got this ear infection because his ears hadn't fully healed from all the previous infections, and when he got a cold it caused another one. So, we have to continue the Ciprodex drops for another week, and hopefully that will be enough time for his ears to heal. Pray that he doesn't get another cold for a while, because the longer he goes without a cold, the better a chance he has at having his ears heal!

Ear Infection

Poor Drake got another ear infection! We were really hoping that getting tubes put in his ears would solve this problem, but as soon as he got another cold, sure enough, his ears got infected. He has a follow up appointment with the ENT doctor who did his surgery on Wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed that he has another idea to try. I don't want Drake to have to go through this anymore!!!

Update

I think this might be the longest I have gone without positing. This has been a busy month!!! A lot has happened in the past month. To start with, Drake is now sitting up unsupported, rolling over both directions and is starting to eat veggies! He is getting so big! I look at him now and wonder where my little baby went:-) It is hard to imagine that he was ever 5 lbs!

Drake turned 6 months last week, so the pediatrician gave us the OK to start introducing veggies. I am trying to make them myself (we will see how long that lasts...) We first started him on green beans, which he loved at first until I gave him a bite that was too hot. Bad mommy! Ever since then he hasn't liked his veggies that much. A few days later we introduced peas, which he hasn't really cared for either. I think next I might move on to some orange veggies, even though the doc said to stick with green. If I were Drake, and had only had breastmilk and cereal, I don't think I would like icky veggies either! At least orange veggies are a little sweeter, and maybe a little easier for him to start with. We will see!

About Drake sitting and rolling over: He has mastered both, and he wants to crawl so bad, but can't figure it out quite yet. He will push up on his arms, then lay his face down on the ground and push his butt up in the air. He hasn't figured out how to do both at the same time, it is really cute! On occasion he will topple over when sitting and it makes him so mad! He hasn't learned to move into the sitting position himself, so once he learns this, I don't think toppling over will make him quite so angry.

One other big thing that happened last week was Drake got tubes put in his ears! The poor little guy has had 5 ear infections in the past 3 months, so the ENT doctor decided it was time. The procedure only took a couple minutes, but it really stressed Jason and I out having to put Drake under anesthesia. Drake was a trooper though, and did wonderfully! He had the tubes put in his ears in the morning, and by late afternoon he was basically back to his normal self. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this marks the end of the ear infections!

I have a bunch of pictures to post, but here are a few that we had taken recently:

New Milestones!

Drake has had 2 new milestones in the past week! 1st, on Saturday he had solid foods for the first time. We gave him a little rice cereal, and he didn't seem to mind it! When he got that first spoonful he made the funniest face. It was like he was saying "What the heck is this?!?!" He got more all over his face and bib than he actually swallowed, but it was a start none the less! Here are a couple pictures...

Then, last night Drake rolled over for the first time!! That was a surprise! He had just taken a bath and he was playing naked on the floor on his tummy while I gave him a baby back rub, and he just decided to flip over:-) He looked pretty surprised right after he did that! So, we put him back on his tummy and he rolled over another 3 or 4 times! Our little boy is getting so big!

4 months old

Our Drakey turned 4 months old on Saturday! I can't believe how big he is getting! He is really starting to fill out. He is getting the super cute chunky rolls on his legs, and is starting to get some on his wrists as well:-) Each day he is getting stronger and stronger, and he can almost lift himself up on his hands while lying on his tummy. He is starting to not mind his tummy time as much as before- He used to SCREAM anytime we placed him on his tummy, and now he will try to scoot his legs forward, pushing his butt up in the air, but still isn't quite able to get up on his arms. I think within a week or so he will have that mastered! Jason put together Drake's jumper the other day, and Drake loves it. I thought he would still be to small (which he kinda is) but he doesn't care! We put a pillow under his feet since they don't touch the ground, and he starts jumping away!

Along with that, Drake has been sleeping in his crib unswaddled for almost a week now!! For the longest time we kept him swaddled while he slept since he would flail his arms and legs and wake himself up, but he seems to slowly be learning not to do that. I think it is so cute to see him all sprawled out in his crib when he sleeps. There is nothing more precious than an adorable sleeping baby:-)

Drake also had his first Easter last week. I posted a couple of pictures below:-)

Drake is going to be 4 months old next week! wow how time flies. This picture was taken last weekend- look at the difference from when Drake was born to now! My good little eater has almost tripled in size:-)

1st parenting battle won!... for now at least....

Drake's personality has really started to come out lately. It has been so much fun seeing him transform from this little tiny newborn, to this active, alert, happy and funny 3 month old! Along with all these great personality traits he has also shown that he is a stubborn little guy! (who could he have gotten that from?!?! hehe.)

While Drake is at childcare during the week he is fed a bottle, since I obviously can't nurse on demand. By the end of last week Drake started pitching a fit any time I tried to nurse him, because it doesn't come out as fast as the bottle. Ugh! He got angry and would arch his back, cry and pull off every time I tried to feed him on Friday. By Saturday I was worried that he was going to self wean himself way to early (and I am already having trouble keeping up with his milk requirements while pumping.) So, I called Susan, my trusty lactation consultant friend. She told me that Drake is a smart baby for knowing the difference, and she told me that from now on I am not allowed to give him a bottle myself, and if anyone else gives him a bottle, I am not allowed to be in the room, or anywhere in the house where he can hear me! I was also instructed, to Jason's delight, to walk around my house topless all day Saturday holding and nursing Drake as much as possible. To my surprise it worked! Drake is back to nursing like a champ:-) Thanks Susan! 1st parenting battle won! whohoo! Now to break the swaddle habit, and get Drake to fall asleep on his own without being rocked into a deep sleep. Baby steps!

Family Picture

Our first family pictures.... Professional that is... While we were up in Darrington for Grandpa's funeral a photographer took a bunch of pictures of the family:-)

Week 2 of Work

Today was day 1 of my 2nd week back at work. It was so hard to leave Drake again today, after being with him for the past 3 days!!! I was told by a coworker that Monday's would always be hard, but still- ugh. He looked so adorable cuddled up on Jason's chest when I left this morning, all I wanted to do was crawl back into my PJ's and cuddle up with them! I'm so lucky that Drake and Jason get to spend Monday's together, and that I get to work from home on Friday's. As great as the Montessori school is, having him there only 3 days a week is much better than 5!

On another note, I was looking at the pictures that were taken of Drake at the hospital, and it's hard for me to imagine that he was ever that small!!! He still seems little to me, but at 12.5 lbs, he is almost 3x as big as he was when he was born 3 months ago! Wow!!!

3 Months Old!

Drake turned 3 months old yesterday! I can't believe how fast the time goes by! Drake is doing wonderful at school- He seems to be enjoying himself, and whenever I show up he seems really happy, which makes the transition back to work MUCH easier for me! I think I will always feel that I should be staying home with him, but since I have to work, I am very happy with our childcare situation.

Yesterday evening Drake was sitting in my lap, and we were throwing the ball for Kona. All of a sudden Drake started letting out these big belly laughs at Kona! It was sooo funny! Every time Kona would come drop the ball at Drake's feet, he would laugh, and every time I would throw the ball he would laugh! I have heard him laugh before, but never so much at once, and never directed at the dog! Drake and Kona are going to be best buddies in no time!

Vacation

Jason and I thought we would take Drake to go visit grandma and grandpa in Hawaii for the last week of my maternity leave. Man it turned into an eventful trip! We got out there on Friday, and the next morning we had to evacuate early in the morning because of a tsunami that was supposed to hit Hawaii. We didn't have any diapers, so we had to rush over to Safeway and stand in a 50 person long line to buy them. Then, we sat up on top of a hill for about 6 hours, waiting to see if anything would happen. Nothing did. Frustrated and tired we headed back to the house and passed out.

The next morning we were out running errands and got a phone call that Jason's grandfather had been in a tragic accident. Jason's parents then flew up to Washington state to go see him, and unfortunately grandpa passed away the next day. That left us in Hawaii, needing to fly to Washington for the funeral. Because we were on vacation, we only had warm weather clothes, so we had to go buy a bunch of stuff for a funeral and cold weather. We then flew up to Washingtion, lugging all our scuba gear, warm weather clothes, tons of baby stuff etc. Not fun!!! All the family flew in for the funeral, so Drake got to meet a bunch of family for the first time. The funeral was on Saturday, and it was really sad for the family to have to say goodbye to grandpa. He will truly be missed! We flew home on Sunday, and I started work on Monday. Because of all this, I have been sooooooo exhausted the past two days!!!! Ugh!!!

So, next time you have a bad vacation, just think that it can't be worse than the one we had!!!

While in Hawaii, we didn't get into our bathing suits even once, but we did take a couple of cute pictures of Drake in his swim trunks. Enjoy!

Update

Once again it has been forever since I have blogged! Sorry about that. I promise I will get better! So much has happened since I last blogged. Drake is smiling and laughing up a storm! It is the cutest thing ever! It makes me so happy to see him so happy:-) His gas problems are pretty much gone since I have changed my diet, which has made him a MUCH happier kiddo! He is holding his head up pretty well, but is still a "bobblehead baby" sometimes. Drake has discovered his hands, and loves putting his hands in his mouth. He also has started to clasp his hands in front of him, and it looks like he is plotting something. So funny!!

I just really can't believe how fast he is growing, and how much he is changing each week. It is amazing to see each new thing that he is discovering!

Smiles!

In the past two weeks Drake has really started to smile, coo, and giggle! I can be having such a rough day, and seeing that little smile just melts my heart:-) This was the first day that we were able to capture the smiles on camera!

Chiropractor Update

We took Drake to see Dr. Jen the chiropractor, and he seems to be doing much better now! Drake got his first adjustment, and seemed to like it. I know this will sound strange, but Dr. Jen is also a naturopath, and she did all these muscle tests on me while I was holding him to determine where our vitamin deficiencies are, and what foods I need to cut out of my diet in order to get Drake's tummy problems under control. It was really strange, but a lot of people seem to have great results with these tests. Also, while I was at the office she gave Drake some probiotic powder to help his intestines, and it immediately started to help!!! I also started some different supplements, and in the past 24 hours Drake has slept more than he ever has, and hasn't had ONE bad bout of gas since then!!! Now if I can only cut out everything that she says that I need to: Dairy, eggs, coffee, pears, corn, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, strawberries, and any berries with seeds on the outside. Wish me luck!!!

Chiropractor

As many of you know, Drake is a gassy little guy, and tends to wake himself up in the middle of the night because of it. It is taking a serious toll on both Jason and I, and we are getting really run down. My friends Susan and Erin both recommended a pediatric chiropractor, who can do tests on me to see what Drake may have allergies to, and may be able to help with these problems!! It seems crazy to me that she can do tests on me to see what is wrong with Drake. Keep your fingers crossed that it helps, because we want Drake to feel better, and Jason and I SERIOUSLY need some more sleep!!!!!

Drake Isaac Nations

Introducing Drake Isaac Nations!!

Drake Isaac Nations is here! 7 weeks ago that is...I am officially the worst blogger ever! I can't believe I went 7 weeks without posting. Well actually I can, because Drake has been taking up every waking minute of my life since he was born! He loves to be held, and hates it when I talk on the phone or put him down. We are working on that... Needless to say, I hardly have time to take a shower, no less blog, but it has been the best 7 weeks of my life! I promise to be better about blogging though:-)

To get you caught up, Drake was born at 4:49 pm on Thursday December 10th. He was a tiny guy at 5 lbs 3 ounces and 17.5 inches, but was perfectly healthy!!!! We were a little worried, since he was diagnosed with IUGR, but once he was born he started eating like a champ, and hasn't looked back since. Today he is 7 weeks old, and as of this past Tuesday he was 9 lbs and 21 inches!!!! I can't believe how fast my little man is growing! Every day he seems to be changing. In the past week alone I have seen his first real smiles and tears! I loved the smiles, and the tears made me soooo sad! I was looking at the premie outfit that he came home from the hospital in, and I can't believe he ever fit into it. He is growing out of all his newborn clothes already.

When Drake was about 2 weeks old Jason's parents came out to visit. Dad stayed for a week, and mom stayed for 3 weeks. Both of them were such a HUGE help!!! By the time that mom left, Drake was recognizing her voice and turning his head to her when she talked, and she was helping me with midnight feedings, and taking him in the morning so that I could get a few more hours of sleep. What a blessing it was to have them out here!!!! Thank you both so much!!! I don't go back to work until the 2nd week of March, so Jason and I decided to go visit them in Hawaii for the last week I am off. We are really excited for them to be able to see Drake again, since he is growing so fast!

One thing that we have been dealing with is a possible food intolerance, and acid reflux. For the past week I have cut out dairy, nuts, eggs, most wheat products, strawberries and all the usual gas causing foods. I don't really know if it has made a difference, so since it has been a week I added dairy back into my diet tonight. We will see in 6 hours or so if Drake pitches a fit! Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well, because dairy has been the hardest thing to cut out. I love cheese! I also just got him a prescription of acid reflux medicines. Hopefully it will help him:-/ Drake's cousin Redford had this, and my sister in law Catie said that medicine really helped him, so I am hopeful that it will help!

Anyways, that's a little of what has been going on with us lately. Sorry I have been so bad at keeping this blog up to date. I will try my best to keep up with it from now on!


Drake coming home from the hospital