Happy Memorial Day

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day and a good start to the summer season!





We had a busy week here. Rian was out of town for work, so my mom (aka NANA) came over to help me out with the little guy...he was good, but he knows when Rian is away and he doesn't sleep really well. I was very exhausted by the end of the week, but we were both so happy to have Rian home.



On the Robinson front, we officially have our first tooth! And I think there are more trying to/close to breaking through which is fine by me. I'd rather have a bunch of them come in at once so that the little guy doesn't have to deal with so much discomfort spread out for months. And the big news of the week is that Robinson can pull himself to stand! woot woot....



Here is a video of the said standing...the 'first' time was Wednesday May 20th, but this video is from yesterday (you know it takes me a few days before he lets me record him) :)

Some pictures from today, Memorial Day. We went over to my grandmother's house and met my parents and Aunt Linda and Uncle John. Of course we all ate way too much, but we worked it off by playing with Robinson, right?! ;-)

The BOB and The Zoo

I have a wonderful family and fabulous friends.


I've always known that, but this week, they once again went above and beyond. It has been a hard month, because Robinson is transitioning food/meals; he's teething; we're trying to transition to the crib; and his bowels are not the most regular because of all of these factors (yes, I'm one of those mom's that talks about my kid's poop...).

We had our first non checkup trip to the pediatrician last week because Robinson just seemed to be breathing fast and his reflux seemed to have gotten worse. Verdict = little man was just constipated, which was causing pressure on everything. He's always had issues in this department, even in the NICU, so it wasn't really surprising. We now have to give him a little juice/water/Miralax cocktail twice a day until he becomes more 'regular'. Just in the past day, I can tell that he feels so much better and he's eating better (crossing fingers) so hopefully this will help him in some areas. The good news is that he grew a 1/2 inch in 2 weeks- he's now 28 inches long and almost 19 pounds!

I've been very stressed this week, thinking it was something more serious....So, it's been a rough week... Rian was gone to Biloxi to go see Glenn Campbell in concert with his mother yesterday. My parents came over to see Robinson and just sit with me. UPS arrived with a huge box around 6pm. I honestly thought Rian had bought some stupid hunting accessory and didn't pay that much attention. When I went out to get the take out we'd ordered for dinner, I finally looked at the box and noticed it was The BOB Stroller!! If any of you have seen "Little Miss Sunshine", I seriously could have had a similar reaction to when the little girl found out she was in the pageant- aka- screaming at the top of my lungs! haha This is the CADILLAC of all strollers and I've had my eye on it for some time. It's a jogging stroller, technically, but you can easily use it for every day because it's so versatile and it's a GREAT ride for babies. It has shock absorption and multi position/reclining seat, plus the front wheel can swivel or lock, so it's great for walking and jogging. It is an amazing gift and I have to say a very special thank you to:

Madison, Melissa, Coretta, my parents and Rian for getting together behind my back and buying me this unbelievable gift- just because. It was so thoughtful and I could not believe their generosity. I love you all!

Our 1st adventure with The BOB was to the Gulf Shores Zoo. My Dad had bought my mom a 'tiger encounter' for Mother's Day. You basically get to play with the baby tiger cubs at the zoo for X amount of time. We headed down there this afternoon and had a great time. The stroller was wonderful- completely shaded Robinson and he had fun looking at all of the animals. He even fell asleep in it towards the end- so it must have been comfortable. He did cry once when the larger goat came up to him at the fence and started "talking" to him. It scared him a little and, I'll be honest, made us giggle a lot! They have numerous goats, deer, etc, but they do have their share of exotic animals with a surprising amount of lions and tigers and bears- oh my! ;-P

Here are some pictures from the day...enjoy!

Me and Robinson in The BOB

He was very excited when we started walking outside

Robinson with Poppa Jim

Don't you just love that face?!?
With Daddy ...

and Mommy

Nana with the Tiger Cubs

The Bear Exhibit

So tired...

Mother's Day and Robinson's Christening

My first Mother's Day was a huge success. Let me tell you, though, now that we can get out and about...I love it AND I hate it. haha- I never knew how much work and how exhausting outings with an infant can be for the parents! We did manage to get up and get ready this morning and make it to the church on time. Robinson looked absolutely adorable in his outfit and was so good during the service. I only had to walk out once with him and that was just because he was getting tired. He loved the music of course and also loved people watching. I have to admit that I got teary during his baptism- we haven't been able to go to church since he was born and seeing some of the same people that came to see us in the hospital just brought back so many memories and made me so grateful for where we all are today.

For my first Mother's Day present, Robinson got Mommy a mini chopper for the kitchen that I have had my eyes on and a Starbucks gift card! Even if we don't have anywhere to go, that has been mine and Robinson's adventure of choice in the early afternoon- just a little something to get out of the house.

Here are some pictures from church today. Obviously, I STILL don't look like myself, but I'm slowly coming back. But the little guy is just adorable! :) And I apologize, we didn't get any good family pictures. They were off balance or out of focus (the lighting in the church is different) so, sadly, we have no pictures of the 3 of us. Maybe somebody got some along the way...

I hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day!

He is just getting cuter every day!

C.R.A.W.L.I.N.G!

I finally got him on video! Now, I know it's not pretty and perfect, but the kid IS moving! He will just get better with practice and he loves that he can get to toys across the floor now. Robinson is really getting more mobile each day. He wanted to stand against the ottoman this morning and I let go of him and he starts trying to cruise down the side of it! He frequently tries to jump out of my arms when I'm holding him and he will NOT sit down and play. He is constantly moving and trying to stand, and therefore tumbling all over the place. He's already hit his head on the entertainment center because he was trying to roll away from me. He has NO fear, which, as a mother, terrifies me, but also make me smile at the same time. I guess I should get used to having a boy, huh?

In other news, we are trying to get out more. Robinson and I went to the Eastern Shore Center on Friday and walked around. He loved Barnes and Nobles and, of course, we had to buy him a new book while we were there. Everyone who saw him 'ooohed and awed' at how cute he is....and I tried to hold myself back from tackling people when they would reach to touch him. Seriously, it's like when total strangers want to rub your belly when you are pregnant. Why do people have NO boundaries when it comes to pregnancy or babies?? I even had his bright red stop sign on his stroller that says "Please Wash Your Hands Before You Touch Mine"...I did get a couple of mothers that commented on how cool the sign was and how they wished they had one for their children. At least some people respected his personal space! I will say, though, that the one cooky lady that did touch him, only touched his feet. I made sure that I needed to adjust his straps so that she couldn't get to his hands. I realize that I'm neurotic and you're more than welcome to laugh, but it seriously freaks me out that people I don't even know feel that it's okay to walk up to you in a store and touch/play with my baby....it equally freaked me out when people would rub my belly while I was pregnant. I must have a thing about personal space, huh?! ;-)

Anyway, I digress...

Today, Rian and I took Robinson to the outlet malls in Foley. My parents met us there because they wanted to walk around with him. He got to ride his first carousel and seemed to enjoy it immensely. No, I didn't have my camera on me- lesson learned. You never know when a first will happen! All in all, he does great on the outings- except for now eatings have become a real chore. He will eat any of the solid food you put in front of him, but bottles- ugh. It is a hassle to say the least. He's down to 3-4 bottles a day and I can honestly say we feel like it's a good day if he takes 1 or 2 of them without fussing. He will clamp his lips shut, turn his head and or just generally be interested in something else. I know he's getting older and doesn't like the bottle, but he doesn't seem interested in learning the sippy cup any faster and the formula is still where his nutrition is so it's non-negotiable. I tried to reason with him, but he just grunted and smacked me in the face! haha Oh well, only a couple of more months and maybe we'll get to switch to milk and be finished with the whole formula thing. I really think that he is just developing taste buds and anybody that has smelled formula knows that it can NOT possibly taste good...so my man just has a delicate palate.

On other food fronts, we tried meat this week and I quickly realized that this will be one baby food that I make for Robinson. It looks, smells and probably tastes like dog food. I know that it has to in order to be processed and stored in a jar, but seriously...Robinson gave me this look like 'what the he!! was that??' and promptly gagged. haha- so, it looks like Mommy is going to be baking some chicken and getting out the trusty food processor to help the little guy know what real meat tastes like!

We have Robinson's Christening in the morning which should be beautiful and we had some professional pictures done a couple of weeks ago that should be ready next week. So, you will be bombarded with pictures soon!

Happy Mother's Day!

9 Month Stats- Quick Update

Howdy Ho!

Just wanted to give a quick update of our growing boy. He had his 9 month pediatrician appointment this past week (yes, I know he's technically 9 1/2 months, but you go when there is an opening)!

Weight: 18 pounds 10 ounces

Height 27 1/2 inches

Percentile: 25th for his ACTUAL age

Yep, you read the above statement right. Not only has Robinson hit the growth charts for his actual age, but he is has also hit them at the 25th percentile, which is FANTASTIC! His doctor was more than pleased. She checked him out and looked him over and said he is just doing remarkably well and she was so happy for him.

He definitely is growing up. Last week, I noticed he was trying to refuse some of his bottles and wasn't eating that well. I was worried that he might be sick, but I asked the doctor and she watched him, and asked some questions, one of which was he still eating his solids good- 'um, yeah, the boy will eat anything that comes near his mouth'. haha So, the verdict is that he's growing up and needs less formula and more substance. As Dr. L put it, "he's saying, 'mom, I'm a man, I need some meat and potatoes'"....HAHA So, we switched from our regular formula to Enfamil Next Step. It's basically a transitional formula to whole milk. You see it is very much recommended that infants stay on formula until at least 1 year of age, because that is where they receive all of their vitamins, minerals, etc. Most preemies stay on it until 1year old for their adjusted age (which would be 15 months for Robinson). However, this little overachiever is proving us wrong again and is ready for more solids/table food and becoming less dependent on his formula. The Next Step is concentrated with vitamins/minerals, so it allows us to feed him 20-24 ounces per day (3-4 bottles) rather than the 36-40 ounces (4-5 bottles) we were before.

She also said to start more table food and to explore all options with baby food. I have to admit, I've been very conservative with his food and haven't branched out as much as I should. surprise, surprise...but I went to the grocery store yesterday and loaded up. We bought some juice to start trying sippy cups; I bought some beef and chicken and exotic fruits and berries for him to try...oh, and this morning for breakfast Robinson had his first taste of yogurt! I mixed it with some applesauce and he thought it was the best thing ever! BUT I will say, with his reflux still present (albeit very much better than before)...yogurt is some NASTY stuff coming back up...blech!

The other big news is that Dr. L said it was time for Robinson to sleep in his crib. She hasn't really pushed us to make the move until now, but she watched him at our appointment and said it is time. His growth is caught up; developmentally he's really only about a month behind now; and she looked at me and said 'you're exhausted'. So...her advice was to let him cry it out. Now, I will go on record and say that I am not a fan of cry it out- at all! But that is why she put Rian in charge of it and told me to take an ambien and go to sleep...haha. I don't know if I can do all of that, but this week we are going to try to transition him to his crib, so please say a little prayer for the little guy that he can handle it. He doesn't like being alone at all and likes to be snuggled right next to me when he sleeps, so I'm very worried that this is not going to go well. Dr. L is right, though. I'm exhausted. I took note last night and I pretty much wake up EVERY HOUR to check on him, make sure he's positioned well, etc. That is not healthy for me or for Robinson. So, hopefully this will be a somewhat smooth transition and everyone in this house can get some much needed rest!

Oh, and did I mention a tiny little detail- Robinson is crawling!!! It's not pretty and he has YET to let me get it on video...But I promise as soon as I do, I'll post away. It's like he grew up overnight!