Mommy's Boy

Lately Tanner has become quite the mommy's boy. He'll be crying for no apparent reason when other people are holding him, but as soon as he's in my arms, he quits down and is totally content.

Part of me loves it! It's so rewarding to know that your child really does know who you are and can tell the difference - and only you have that special touch. But the other part of me feels sad - I want other people to be able to provide the same level of comfort to him too. Especially Anthony and other people who help take care of him. It's frustrating for Anthony, but he does try to do everything possible before handing him over to me. It's just because I'm nursing him...

In a recent study I read about, it discussed ways parents, especially fathers, can develop close relationships with their babies so that when they cry they are easily comforted by both mommy and daddy. And according to the article, the number one factor was the number of diaper changes! Apparently getting down into the dirty business helps develop that close relationship and shows they can satisfy their basic needs as well.

When I told this to Anthony, he at first thought it was a ploy to get him to change all of Tanner's dirty diapers. But now he's always volunteering to change Tanner's diapers whenever he's home - it's great!

PS - I also think nightly bedtime baths accomplish the same thing - getting in their personal space at their eye level and satisfying basic needs - so Anthony also gives Tanner a nightly bedtime bath - in which case he absolutely loves it.

I missed it!

Today I set Tanner down on a blanket with his favorite toy mirror in front of him. He usually hates tummy time so I had to do something to entice him. Well, I left the room and heard him crying just a minute later. When I checked to see what was wrong, I noticed that he had rolled over! And of course I had missed it!! So I have no clue how he managed to turn himself over, but I think it scared him cause he went from being totally peaceful to crying panically. Now we'll just see if he can do it again!

Anthony and I were just talking last night about how he's never going to rollover or crawl cause he's so chubby. Plus - he hates tummy time, but the few instances I have layed him on his stomach, we laugh cause he looks like a beached whale. He'll kick is legs and lift his arms so only his stomach is touching the ground.

Well - of course I wasn't able to get any photos - but afterwards I snapped these shots of him playing with the same toys.

Lunch with Daddy

Today we went to visit Anthony for lunch at Baylor Dental School. He's been pretty busy - between school, his never-ending research project, and working with young men's - we don't see him nearly as much as we would like. Anthony had fun showing Tanner off to his friends, but Tanner was getting sleepy so he was trance.

I do have to admit - our positions have changed since having Tanner. Anthony use to be the one always calling me at work asking when I would be coming home. And now I've become the desperate housewife calling him and asking when he'll be home and then anxiously awaiting his arrival. When Tanner was a newborn, he was a high maintenance little baby so it was such a relief to have him help and then engage in meaningful adult conversations.

I've never realized how hard it is to be a stay at home mother - and I only have one little baby. I now have a new found respect for all mothers - some things you just don't understand until you experience it yourself.

I guess I'm not going to be staying at home everyday with Tanner - but I do desperately wish. I have just over 2 weeks before I'll be returning to work, but for now, I just try not to think about it and enjoy the time I do have with Tanner.

Born to drool!

Just in the past week, Tanner has begun to drool like crazy. Lately, he's been spitting out his pacifer and instead - trying to eat his shirt collar or his fist. He's still not coordinated enough to get his thumb in his mouth every time, but it doesn't stop him from trying.

He like's to make little bubbles with all the drool that comes out. And whenever I pick him up, he tries to gnaw on my shoulder so I'm usually covered in it as well.

He just always wants to have something in his mouth. Most kids goes through this stage when the begin to start teething, but we have a ways before that begins to happen.

All Smiles

Tanner is smiling now more than ever, which makes having a totally dependent baby all the more worthwhile. When he is not smiling, he has such a serious face. And now his cheeks have gotten so chubby - it weighs down his face and look like he's frowning even if he's totally content. But I love his chubby cheeks.

Serious Business

Play time

The first pic is Avery holding Tanner and rocking him on the glider. These are my two favorite kids! She is always excited at the prospect of holding him and it's much easier now that he's gotten older and isn't as fragile. As you can see, it's hard to tell who's enjoying it more. She loves to help with him - whether it's giving him his pacifier or assisting with diaper changes or picking out cute outfits for him to wear.

The second pic is of Tanner on his Bumbo chair. Now that he can hold his head up, we thought we'd give it a try and he does a really good job sitting up with it. He actually prefers to be sitting up position rather than lying down so it comes in handy. One day this week I propped him up in the corner of the couch while I went to put a load of laundry in the dryer, but when I came back he had managed to squirm out of the position and was lying face down. He's quite the wiggler so I have to be more careful where I leave him.

The last picture is of Tanner playing with the activity mat. He gets excited when he pulls or kicks one of the dangling animals and the music goes off. He just moves his arms and legs like crazy and will make these cute "cooing" sounds almost like he is laughing.

But my favorite moment of the day is when he first wakes up in the morning. He has been waking up in such a playful, happy mood and will just give me the widest smiles. And as I talk to him, he responds with the cutest baby sounds. Although I'm not a morning person, it's a great way to start the day!

Is this the same baby?

I know people always say how quickly babies grow up, but seriously, Tanner really has grown outrageously fast. As just so everyone else can see - I posted these pictures. Looking at the pics, it's hard to imagine that it's really the same baby - just 11 weeks apart!

The first pic is when we were leaving the hospital with Tanner. Even on the tightest setting, he was drowning in the car seat. And now just at 2 1/2 months, I'm wondering how long it's going to be until he outgrows it. While he weighed only 7 lbs 2 oz upon discharge, he at least weighs 14 lbs now - meaning that he's nearly doubled in size. Just look at his legs - as a newborn, he had little froggy legs and now they are full of rolls.

Just in the past few weeks, Tanner has outgrown all his newborn and 3 month baby clothes. The other day I was putting on a new pair of 3-6 month pants. They were so tight around his waist that I decided to leave the top button undone. He's so chubby and when he wears pants, it only makes his belly stick out even more! So I'm hoping he grows a few inches and thins out some...otherwise I'm going to be sad if he never can wear any of his 3-6 month clothes.

Ok - one more story. I decided to open a new package of white onesies that I thought were 3-6 months to make sure he got some wear out of them. When I put them on him, they still seemed kinda small and I hadn't even washed them yet. The next day when I was pulling another out of the package, I realized they were size 6-9 months. If he's already outgrowing these clothes...I'm in trouble cause it means he won't be able to wear half the clothes I bought him. I kinda went crazy when I found out I was pregnant and he already has a wardrobe full of clothes up to 12 months.

Cherish every moment - it'll be gone before you know it.

Flying High! - Sept 15th

Anthony is always looking for ways to play with Tanner. Newborns really aren't all that exciting, but he's my little baby - so cute and cuddly. Like any dad, Anthony just can't wait 'til he gets slightly bigger and he can toss him alround some. But he really has grown so fast - I can't imagine it going more quickly.

We have a swing in our backyard for Avery (our niece) who is obsessed with it. As I was pushing her just the other day, I was looking forward to next summer when we could push Tanner in the swing...but Anthony had another idea.

While I thought he was in the middle of cooking hamburgers on the grill, Anthony called my name and told me I had to come outside to see Tanner. When I went outside, little Tanner was buckled in the swing and softly swinging back and forth. Tanner absolutely loved it! He was having a crabby day so anything to make him happy.

I'm addicted!!

I've started reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. While I liked the first book, I wasn't totally addicted. But the second one really did me in. Even with a friend halfway spoiling the story for me - I still absolutely loved it. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. All day on Saturday I sat and read the book until I was finished. But it was the perfect day to read - it was raining outside - the aftermath of Hurricane Ike reaching Dallas and I didn't want to take Tanner anywhere. And while Tanner didn't want to take a very long nap, he was totally content cuddling up with me while I was reading. Tanner isn't much of a cuddler so so I had to enjoy it while it lasted!

I've heard mixed reviews - it seems like you either love or hate them. But I haven't heard any good argument from someone who did not like them. One friend mentioned that Bella and Edward don't have a healthy relationship as Edward stocks her at night and it always right behind her when she's in trouble. But Edward is a vampire and it's not real life. Let's think about Romeo and Juliet and how healthy their relationship was? And yet it's one of the greatest literary works and you can't get through high school without having to read that story!

Tanner Finds His Thumb! - Sept 11th

In the middle of the night, I jumped out of bed as I heard Tanner making the strangest gagging noise. I usually don't really ever "jump" out of bed at his every noise, but this time it totally scared me and I thought for sure he was choking. But when I went into his room to check on him, he was ferociously sucking on his thumb! When he's hungry, his animal instincts come out and he loves to attack. It was so cute and I wanted to snap a picture, but resisted the urge as I was still hopeful he would go back to sleep.

Tanner is obsessed with having something in his mouth when he sleeps. At first I loved it cause I could lay him down for a nap and as long as he had his pacifer, he would be happy and fall asleep. But now he's started waking up and crying if he doesn't have it in his mouth - which means we're waking up more times than I would like at night. I'm trying to wean him from the habit...but it's probably my fault. At the beginning I use to nurse him for almost an hour cause he never acted like he was done - he'd always keep sucking. And then he would spit up so much or just start not swallowing the milk - all signs he's had more than enough - but me being the clueless first-time-mom still was worried he must not be eating enough. To say the least, I've stopped timing it and wait for him to tell me when he's done. And amazingly enough, he eats in less than 15 minutes. Little boys get straight down to business!

Chunky Monkey! - September 4th

Tanner has grown so much! I didn't realize it until I saw my friends brand new little newborn, Brynlee, and couldn't believe that Tanner was once that small - and it hasn't been that long. But Tanner has grown so fast and is now a chuncky little baby. I love it!!

At his two month appt yesterday, he weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz - meaning he's gained almost a pound a week over the past several weeks! (the typical weight gain is only 1/2 lb a week). He's now in the 80th percentile for weight - whereas at his two week appt - he was only in the 25th percentile. All that yummy milk!



He's getting cuter every day. He now smiles and coos when you talk to him. He likes to grab at everything in sight, whether it's my hair, necklace, or shirt. He's a very active little boy and when he is awake, is always wiggling his arms and kicking his legs. He's always trying to hold his head up, but just when you think he finally has a hang of it, he'll bobble it around.


His favorite toy is the fun toy mirror. We have it on his changing table and he now loves to get his diaper change. He loves to pull at all the fun toys on it. As soon as he sees it, he gets to excited and begins to grab for the toys and kick his legs. His other favorite toy is the swing. No matter if he's happy, grouchy, or tired - he always loves to go in his swing. When I put him in, he immediately turns his head to look at the mirror and mobile attached to the swing. It's so cute. Thanks Chels for the awesome swing - it's such a lifesaver! And as you can see from the pic below, we're still working on trying to get him to like the activity mat.





Now I'm just working on getting him on a consistent eating and sleeping schedule!