14 Weeks Old and a Major Milestone

At least to us it's a major milestone - drum roll, please...RF rolled over tonight from his back to his stomach!

 

He has already rolled from his stomach to his back and has been trying to go from his back to his stomach for a few days now. This afternoon, he finally did it, not once, but three times.

 

The first time was at Lola's house this afternoon. With a lot of coaching it took him about 3 minutes to actually do it. Tonight at home he did it after about a minute or so of coaching and the third time I finally got out the iPad to record it. As soon as I laid him down he rolled onto his side and within 20 seconds was on his stomach. So proud right now...so proud.

 

And yes, that is NCIS on the video in the background. We missed the episode last night so we were trying to catch up on it tonight.

Reality.

I bought this outfit the day we found out we were having a baby boy - Friday, May 18th, 2012. 

RF wore the outfit today - Friday, January 25, 2013 - 36 weeks later. 

THREE Months Old

Another month has gone by and RF continues to amaze us everyday. Gosh, we sure do love this little boy...

10/24/12

11/24/12

12/24/12

1/24/13

Videos of RF

Having parents that are photographers and videographers makes for great documentation of RF's life. We usually get one or two of these a week from Debbie along with photos of RF hanging out at the office, out to lunch, or running errands. We are so thankful that we are able to have his daily life, not just the big milestones, recorded digitally. We already enjoy going back and watching video clips of his first few days of life. 

Tonight, as RF was sitting in my lap, I turned on a few of these videos and let him watch himself - he LOVED it! He sat, attentive, smiling and cackling as he watched. We know all the photos and videos will mean even more to us as he continues to grow and of course, there will be many more to come.

:-)

RF 'talking' to himself...

RF rolling over...

Routine

This week was quite busy as I headed back to work and RF spent his days with Lola and Aunt Hartley.   I started teaching at Fairhope High School on Monday and have to say that it is pretty awesome - the faculty, the staff, the kids, the campus, and even the additional 15 minute drive is quite nice as I choose to take the more rural route and get the chance to enjoy the quiet - no radio, no cell phone calls, no noise, just me and my thoughts.

We have our morning routine down to a science. We are up at 5:00 - Robert Alan tends to RF while I get ready for work and pack RF's bag for the day, then we are out the door on our way to Lola's by 6:00. On our way across the bay we listen to Ray Charles and RF takes a cat nap. Once we get to Lola's we get RF settled, I grab a coffee re-fill and am in Fairhope by 7:00.

Our afternoons are just as routine-based. We get home, RF cat naps while I unpack from the day then RF and I play for a little while before starting dinner. RA is home by 5:30, we have have dinner and spend time together as a family before putting RF to bed in the 7 o'clock hour. Once he is down for the night RA and I can get things ready for the next day and straighten up the house in anticipation of starting over again the next day.

RF has been doing very well in the sleeping department - he consistently sleeps between 7-9 hours a night. If he does wake up in the middle of the night a soft reassurance that he is safe and that we love him is usually all he needs to drift off to sleep. Although, the past two nights he has woken up at 2:30 or 3:00 hungry and, according to my research, this is quite normal as he is hitting his 3-month growth spurt - he will be three months next week.

RF has also begun to be much more interactive. He 'talks' to you when you talk to him - a gurgle or babble, but it is a 3-month version of 'talking'. He has been tracking things/people for a few weeks now and has begun to try and grab things that are close by - a toy, his blanket, your hair...so watch out - that grasp is a tight one. The most exciting thing that he has begun to do is try and roll-over. He can get to his back from his stomach when he is laying on the couch - it has a bit of an incline - and we are working on doing it on the floor. He is getting closer everyday, though.

We are loving watching him develop and change each and every day. And while I am loving all the new milestones, I am secretly sad that my baby boy is growing up right before my eyes. My new role as a mom is challenging, tiring, and oh-so-worth it. I am completely in love. :-)

Having a lunch with Lola on her birthday - keeping himself entertained with his hands. 

"WOW."

Such sweetness...

I LOVE my swing at the office - even with these funny ears on my pillow.

Sweet Zoey watching over RF while he plays with Aunt Hartley. 

Starting to 'hold' his bottle...

Chattin' up Lola while she works...

A handsome little boy...

There he goes :-) - getting better each day in the rolling-over department. 

Two Month Dr. Appt.

We weren't able to get a well-visit appt. over the holidays, so RF had his two month dr. appt. today and we are happy to report that we have a happy and healthy 11-week old baby boy. :-)

Birth                      1 Month Appt.            2 Month Appt.

(10/24/12)              (11/27/12)                   (1/9/13)

9 lbs, 7 oz.              11 lbs, 8 oz.                14 lbs, 6 oz.

21 inches long        24 inches long            25 1/4 inches long

Our pediatrician checked RF out and gave us a perfectly healthy - physically and developmentally - bill of health.

Hanging out waiting for our pediatrician...Lola went with us to the appt., so he is chatting her up while he waits patiently...

Dr. appt.'s don't really rock RF's world. He doesn't mind too much being weighed and measured or being examined by the pediatrician, but shot-time is another story. Let's just say that RF's lungs are fully developed... :-). But once the shots were over he was easily comforted and, just like last time, was asleep before we got out to the car.

RF continues to be very alert (our pediatrician even commented on his alertness at our appt. today), loves to babble back and forth with you when you talk to him and enjoys sitting up in your lap. As the stats above show, he is growing like a weed and is now wearing 3-6 month pajamas for the extra length.

We have also now gone a week with RF sleeping in his crib, in his room, by himself. He is consistently sleeping at least six hours before waking up, but most nights will do seven or eight hours without waking up. I am glued to the baby monitor throughout the night, as you can see below.

How I spend my nights...

Onward and Upward

I do believe 2012 was the best year of my life. RA and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary, we had a fantastic Babymoon up the East Coast and most importantly we welcomed Robert Franklin into our lives.

Ringing in 2013 was very similar to every other New Years Eve we have celebrated together - at home in our pajamas, cooking a meal together and catching up on our favorite TV shows, but this year we got to add hanging out with RF to the list of New Years Eve festivities which made it even more perfect of an evening.

We spent the first day of 2013 setting up our new bed (and deep cleaning our bedroom - deep cleaning any room has been on major hold since RF was born...) so that we could be prepared for our first night separated from RF. Since he was born RF has slept in a cradle beside our bed, but Christmas Day we began transitioning him to his crib. RF is now going between 5-6 hours without waking up, so with only one middle-of-the-night feeding, we knew it was time. For the last week RA and I have slept in RF's room (we have a full-size bed in his nursery), but tonight we are sleeping in our new bed, in our room. Needless to say I'm a nervous wreck. I spent time today setting up our baby monitor so that I can see RF in his crib, but I am still thinking I won't get much sleep tonight. This is just another monumental moment for me as a new mom...

While I am not a New Years Resolution-type person I am looking forward to continuing to do a few things in 2013...
- updating the blog regularly so that at the end of the year I can print all the posts and compile a book for RF to read one day
- adding one page a month to RF's scrapbook - I finished his first scrapbook which details from the time we found out we were pregnant to his birth and am now beginning one that will detail his first year
- organizing - with all the furniture we have I realized that I have not been utilizing the space as well as I should be - things are randomly tossed in drawers and cabinets all over the house. I have begun to take a more holistic approach in that I am working to organize our stuff into permanent calmness instead of temporary chaos
- spending quality time with my little family - RA and I enjoy the weekends where we realize on Sunday evening that we haven't left the house since we got home from work on Friday afternoon

Looking forward to a great 2013!
RA, Heather and RF