A Walk in the park – August 15th

Today I went to playgroup at the Dallas Arboretum with some friends from church – ruth and marilouise. We went to Dallas Arboretum. It was nice to enjoy the scenery and get some exercise walking around the park. Although Tanner was a little too young to enjoy it, it made me think ahead to next summer when he’ll be old enough to splash in the fountain, run around in the clubhouse, feed the fish in the pond, and take pics in the beautiful surrounding.

Whenever we go somewhere in public, he always ends up falling asleep the entire time. It’s very convenient, but I just wish he loved to sleep that much at home:)

We were each pushing our children around in strollers. Funny how for the I felt like a stay at home mom for the first time…even though I wasn’t at home for most the day.

Diaper changing fun! – August 8th

Not that I thought I was an expert at changing diapers, but I didn’t think it would be this hard. I’ve changed many diapers over the years, having younger siblings and babysitting growing up. Having a little newborn baby boy has totally changed my opinion. Every time I change his diapers it’s like a race and contest to see how fast I can go so he doesn’t have time to pee or poop while I’m in the middle of it.

Each time we try to get smarter and quicker to prevent it from happening, but he still manages a way to outsmart us. The worse was the first day we came home from the hospital. It shot straight upwards and a small portion landed on his face. I felt so bad and hurried tried to wipe it away to keep it from going into his mouth and eyes. In the few days we’ve had him, he managed to go on the carpeting, couch, and bed – pretty much everywhere. From then on, we decided to only change him on the changing table. After all, that’s what it is for, right?

And just when I think I’m finally getting good, a day like today happens. First of all, I was in the middle of changing his diaper when he started spitting up – this time coming out from both his mouth and nose. It scared him and he started crying hysterically – so I immediately picked him up to get calm him. And just when he starts calming down, I feel something warm and notice that he has just peed on me. It was not the smartest move to pick him up without a diaper, but my mind doesn’t think clearly at 4 in the morning.

The next diaper change was even more fun. Just when I had cleaned his little bum and pulled his dirty diaper away to put a clean one on, he started to pee everyone. But that wasn’t the end. A second later he started to poop. And it was a huge mess to clean up cause they just mixed together and got everywhere! To say the least, I’m always busy doing laundry.

Nicknames – August 6th

Anthony likes to spend time coming up with nick names for Tanner and thinks he absolutely needs to be named “grumblecakes” or “grumbles” for short. Whenever he in his half-awake mode, which is most of the time, he makes funny little grumble sounds. Even when he is happy he will kinda grunt. I didn’t think anything of it, but people always comment on it when we take him places. And I’m like, this is nothing, you should hear him at night just after he eats.

Another name he’s tossed around is piggers because he snorts when he gets excited or hungry for that matter. And he loves to eat all the time -he would be connected 24/7 if he had his way.

But then again, we really could name him after several different animals, cause he makes so many different sounds that mimic other animal noises. When he’s happy, he makes these cooing sounds that sounds like a little birdie tweeting or when he gets anxious he sounds like a little horse neighing.

Tanner’s First Smile – August 5th

Tanner smiled for the first time today. It was so adorable! There’s no way I could have missed his huge smile that swept across his face when he was done eating, even if I was half asleep. It made me so happy and I wanted to go tell everyone, but with it being the wee hour of the morning, I had to wait. I just wish I could have captured in on photo for everyone to see! But I’m looking forward to more smiles to come!

I wasn’t sure if he had just realized what he had done, but then he did it again later that day when our neighbor, ‘Aunt Nell’ came to stop by and hold the cute feller. As I was holding him in my arms and admiring your charm, he gave us another huge smile. So I’m definitely counting it as his first official smile.

Tanner’s Blessing Day – August 3rd

Tanner was blessed today at church by Anthony. When it came time to do the blessing, Anthony was signaling to his friends and family to come to the stand – and he almost forgot to take Tanner with him. He would never have been able to live it down.

Here’s some pics of Tanner in his blessing gown. Some people might say it’s a little of the feminine side, but I think Tanner is man enough and can easily pull it off. Anthony wasn’t too fond of the idea at first, but it’s a family tradition. Grandma Knick made this blessing gown for the first grandchild and ever since then, we have all been blessed in it. And now that she has passed away, it’s even more precious as it reminds us she is there watching over us.

It was a special occasion that we were able to share with many family and friends. In the circle were both our parents, Keith, Michael, Bro Openshaw, Bishop Hastings, and Eric Crider. The Mierows were also in attendance. Nana and Papa wanted to attend as well – but we weren’t able to schedule it to coincide with their visit.

In the blessing, here are some key phrases Tanner was promised:

* Blessed with happiness and peace in your life
* Ability to know that you are loved and share that love with others
* Surrounded by wonderful family and friends that love you

* Blessed that you will give encouragement to those that surround you
* Blessed to be worthy to hold the priesthood
* Blessed to have faith of your fathers and continue the wonderful traditions of your ancestors.

*Blessed to have the things you need in this life

He's our little angel!!

Feeding Frenzy – August 11th

OMG! I never had a clue how hard in was to breast feed. Not only did I underestimate how uncomfortable it was at first, but how much time it took and how often you have to feed them. At first, Tanner pretty much took an hour to feed in one sitting and then wanted to eat every hour - which meant that I was spending at least 8-12 hours a day feeding him. Actually, if he had it his way, he’d be attached 24/7. The hardest part was as night. I’d only have an hour or so in-between feedings before he would be ready to eat again. It was so exhausting not being able to fall into a deep sleep.

It was really hard when we were first starting out, and as a friend explained, it’s really not a natural process and is the first thing both you and the baby have to learn. In the hospital, Tanner was fed through an IV a portion of the time and we were separated, so he was use to drinking a bottle, which made it even more difficult to try to breastfeed. We were able to make the transition back to breastfeeding, but am “cheating” by using a shield. And while I had hopes for weaning him off in a short amount of time, we’re still working on it.

If you would have asked me how long I wanted to breast feed Tanner before he was born, I easily would have said a year. But now I’m taking in on a week-by-week basis. I had to just keep reminding myself of the many benefits it is to Tanner - and that was enough to keep me going.

I guess a part of me felt so tied down – I was sitting in one place for most of the day. But now I’ve found good books to read and even got cable television – so it’s much more enjoyable and helps me to relax so I’m not stressing about how much he’s eating and whether it’s enough or too much.
Now it’s been over a month and I can say I’ve had a change of heart and actually enjoy it. He’s so cute to watch when he’s eating – sometimes he’s wide away and acts like a little animal as he’s eating, and then sometimes he’s half asleep and so cuddly. It’s our time we’re able to spend together to bond. And while I’m able to hold him as much as I want to now, it’ll be different when I go back to work and want to be able to continue to have that connection.

Sleepless in Dallas

People always told me you would not get any sleep when you had a newborn, but it didn’t really sink in until I had experienced for myself. And I use to think getting up 2-3 times a night to use the restroom when I was pregnant was bad. Now I’d gladly change positions. I only sleep 1-2 hours at a time at night. Anthony is a huge help and oftentimes gets up with him for the 2nd or 3rd night feeding so I can get some rest…but still.

Tanner sleeps in a little bassinet next to my bed – and it has a little night light so it’s very convenient. And even after Tanner falls asleep, he makes so many different sounds that I’m constantly checking on him.

Tanner doesn’t really like sleeping on his back like babies are suppose to sleep – instead he seems to prefer his stomach. We did an experiment to see how long he would sleep on his back – and he slept longer than he had anytime before. But I can’t bring myself to do it now as it’s not the recommended sleeping position and would feel so guilty if something bad were to happen. Now we’ll usually have him fall asleep when he’s lying down on our chest – that’ probably his favorite position – and then move him to his crib lying on his back when he’s asleep.

We tried bringing him into our bed a few times, but neither of us slept very well so it was pointless. Tanner’s a restless sleeper so he kept making noises and moving his hands around – and I’ve a very light sleeper so it just kept waking me up.

In order to get him to sleep longer at night, we’ve tried several different things – from giving him baths to help him relax to letting him nurse and bottle feed to fill him up. Nothing seems to consistently work. Any suggestions??

Date Night – July 17th

Tanner had his first babysitter tonight while we went out on a date to see a movie – The Dark Knight (Batman). Earlier that I was having second thoughts as I was totally exhausted from not sleeping the night before and was a little nervous leaving him. But Anthony talked me into it and I did feel much better after sneaking in a late afternoon nap. We left him in good hands with my sister Chelsea. It was nice to get out of the house and do something together as a couple.

Measuring Up – Doctor’s Office Visit – July 15th

Tanner had his 2-week doctor’s visit today. Dr Curtis reassured us that Tanner is totally healthy and doing great – which made me worry less about the million and one things I could be doing wrong as a parent.

Here’s how he measured up compared to the national statistics:
Height – 21 inches – 50th percentile (he had grown half an inch)
Weight – 7 lbs, 13 oz- 25th percentile (which was great cause he had gained more than his birth weight)
Head circumference – 34.2 cm – 10th percentile

Rub a dub dub – Bath time Fun – July 10th

Tanner’s first bath at home was one July 10th – just over a week old. Most babies I know either love or hate the water – and there’s no in-between. Well – Tanner absolutely loved the water. He looked so relaxed and at peace. In the pics, he looks like a little old man lying in a hammock. He never once cried the entire time, even when I poured water over his face to wash his hair and face. I know I’m jumping ahead of myself, but I’m already excited to teach him how to swim. It’ll have to wait until next summer though when he’s a little older.