Guess who!

Guess who slept 7 and a half hours straight last night (9:30pm-5am) and then went back to sleep after eating and slept until 9:00am!!!! Give up? It's Binny!!!! (aka Donovan) We are going to put that on the calender as "First time I slept though the night". I am so proud of him! He did not even wake up and fuss between those times at all! We did feed him cereal right after his last milk feeding last night so maybe that had something to do with it but since we don't know for sure, we are just going to keep doing it. By the way here are some pictures I took the other day of Donovan fussing before falling asleep in his prefered position, which is on the tummy now.

4 month Doctor's visit and recap of the month

And the stats are:

Weight: 16lbs 13oz- 90th%
Height: 26 and 3/4 inches- 97th%
Head circumference: 17 inches- 75th%

So not so impressively massive as last month but still a big boy! Overall the doctor was impressed with his growth and development, she even said "He looks like a 6 month old." We showed her our tricks like how he rolls over (and tried to do so right off the examining table) and how he holds on to my thumbs as I lift him up from a laying position, bypasses the sitting position and goes straight to standing. She said everything else looked great too.

She also encouraged us to keep trying solids, which we had done at that point only about 4 times, none of which were that successful. Since that day we have fed him about a tablespoon of rice cereal everyday and it is going well! The first time I re-tried it was the day of the appointment and he ate all of his food, but I kind of had to trick him into it. He was not very good at opening his mouth so I would have to wait until he threw his head back and fussed and then I would shovel it in at which point he would be very happy. Thursday Tom fed him and he said he was practically diving, mouth open, at the spoonfuls of food. Yesterday was a combo of the two. Here are some pictures from yesterday. As you can see he gets pretty messy, which is why we took a bath directly after meal time was over.



"Nom, nom, nom!"

The frustrating part of the visit was that the doctor basically told me needed to do major work with his sleeping and that we were doing it all wrong. I know she is right but she gives me about 3 minutes worth of advice, which suffice to say, is not enough time or advice for me to feel good about things. I just end up leaving confused, frustrated and feeling like I was leaving with more questions than I came with. So we are on day number 4 of the major Donovan sleep overhaul and it is going very well, but that is for another blog coming soon.

During the fourth month of Donovan's life he decided he needs to see more of the world, so he has said bye bye to lots of mat time, and now prefers to spend most of his awake time being held in a sitting or standing position so he can see things a little better. He still likes his jumper a lot but he loves to sit on your lap, looking out and chewing on his hands. I like it too because he is practicing using those muscles that will help him sit on his own soon. He also has perfected the cutest trick when he looks in the mirror. We call it "handsome man". What we do is, I hold him facing me, then we go look in the mirror together and I say "Who is that handsome man?" and he smiles reallllllly big and then buries his head in my chest like he is embarrassed. It is adorable and we do it multiple times a day.

He still likes his bath time but chooses to relax during it now as opposed to the major splashing he liked to do last month. He is also reaching for toys more including his favorite toys, which are his burp cloths. He just loves to chew on them. As far as eating goes, he is still eating about every 2-3 1/2 hours during the day, but that is ok with me if we start to stretch out our nighttime feedings. He has also decided that he hates binkies. Whenever you try to put one in his mouth he gets mad and yells at you. It is like he is so offended that you would even try to pass off the binky as the real thing.

I say it every month, but every minute that goes by I just love Donovan more and more and he gets more and more fun! He has such the cute, flirty personality that I am totally in love with. I am so lucky to be his mommy!

Friends

This past Saturday we got together with some friends and had another wonderful day hanging out in South City. We had walked to a deli for lunch, and then walked to a nearby park to hang out and enjoy the beautiful weather. All in all a good day.
Donovan's friend Ian getting a "ride" from Malinda (Aubrey's mommy).

Donovan checking out Ian and Malinda while doing some tummy time on the blanket.

My two cardinals fans.

Matt and his daughter Aubrey (10 months), John and Ian (almost 4 months) and Tom and Donovan (exactly 4 months). Matt, John and Tom were all roommates in college. I wonder if they pictured their lives like this when they graduated 7 years ago.

This is Donovan standing, a favorite past-time of his and how he prefers to be nowadays.

Who wants to stand? Donovan: "I do, I do!"

After our day outside we came home and let Donovan have some jumper time. He was talking and jumping for a while, then all the sudden he wasn't. Tom was like, "Is he sleeping?" I thought "no way." Tom was right.

I don't know how this was comfortable. Too funny.

Birthday night

Tonight Tom and I went to dinner to celebrate my birthday and our friends Lindsay and Eric, otherwise known as Landon's parents, were nice enough to watch Donovan for us. They also happened to send us some pictures they were able to snap during the night and it looked like the boys had a great time! Donovan was crying when we got there, but they assured us that other than the last 10 min, he was a happy boy and was not too much trouble. They could have been lying through their teeth, but if they were I don't care, we appreciate the thought that he did well. Thanks for watching our little man guys!
Landon's daddy and Donovan.
"Hey Donovan, look at these! They are called feet and their great!"
Besties.
A new favorite picture of Donovan. Thanks Lindsay!

Frog towel

Nothing to see here, just a frog getting dried off after his bath.


Froggy checking himself out in the mirror.


Cutest frog ever.


Frog and his mommy. (Do these things come in adult sizes? If so, I would like one)

4 months old

Happy 4 month birthday Donovan! Look at this duder, he is so big!



I will write about Donovan's 4 month development after we go to our 4 month doctor's appointment as I am exhausted and need to go to bed for work tomorrow. Also I want to post some cute pictures from today. So stay tuned for a long post mid-week on Donovan's stats and development.

Baby Bjorn with dad

Donovan's first trip to the zoo

Sunday we had intended to go to Tom's brother's house for more swimming but the forecast called for lots of rain so we decided to hit the zoo instead while it was still relatively nice outside. The day started out warm, with drizzles, which was fine. But then Tom and I had to go complaining about the drizzles and mother nature let us have it by taking all the clouds away and giving us a hot, windless day. Needless to say that we didn't spend as much time at the zoo as we had intended on. Donovan stayed awake enough to people watch through the "River's Edge" area of the zoo ("Animals? What are those? I gots people to look at") and then he promptly slept through the rest of the trip until Tom and I got a funnel cake at which time he woke up crying. I think he was just lecturing us on the perils of eating a funnel cake when we are both trying to eat healthier and lose weight. He is so wise.

Dono and I in front of the elephants. Excuse the haze, it was raining and it is St Louis for pete's sake. (Humidity = 138%)

Us again.

Donovan not impressed with his first zoo trip. Note he did wear a monkey onesie for the occasion though.

Last Saturday

This past Saturday we took Donovan to Jenna's apartment pool so we could test out this cool floatie that I got for him. I took Donovan to the pool once before but they wouldn't let you bring floaties so I had to hold him the whole time so he was just ok with the whole experience. This time he loved it! At first he just laid in the floatie, all maxed and relaxed. After about 30 min of this we helped him sit up in it, (I thought he would sit in it like he does in the jumper but it turns out he is still a little too little, turns out he isn't quite the "9 months" the float package thinks he should be) and he just loved it even more! He was kicking, and slapping his arms. He even tried to eat/chew on the floatie but ended up inhaling some water, which he did NOT like. Overall, it was a success! I can't wait to do it again.

Donovan getting ready with Jenna and Tom. I call his swim shirt "Ba-ba-ba-baaaaahhhd to the bone"

♪"Fat man in a little float"♪ (for all you Chris Farley fans)


This picture is titled "Jaba".

Me and Jen posing with the stud muffin.

Talking in the jumper

This is some video from the 14th of Donovan talking in the jumper to his daddy. I think they were comparing their days.

August 18th 2008

One year ago yesterday was the day that Tom and I found out we were going to be parents. I can still remember the look on Tom's face when I told him, so adorable. I had no clue what that next year would bring but now that I know, I could not be happier. I feel so blessed to be where we are with such a sweet boy. It's crazy to see how big of a difference a year makes. August 18th is a date I will always have a special place in my heart for. Here is Donovan, jumping in his bouncer as I type this. I love him!

Dear Mom,

While I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generous gesture when you bought me washable breast pads, I did not appreciate looking down a few hours into work on Thursday only to see wet spots over my boobs (through a bra, t-shirt and jacket). It is not a good look. Looks like I will be sticking with the good old environment ruining but pride saving throw away ones.

Love, Ellen

A few things

I have lots of stuff to talk about tonight so be forewarned:

Item #1: Thank you everyone for your kind words after my last post (yes, I am talking about THAT post). I am doing much better thanks to a wonderful husband who took the next 2 night duties and also to Donovan who seemed to sense I was at the end of my rope and made a miraculous turn around the next few nights. After that night, Tom and I talked and decided that I was just reading too many books and that we just need to do what is best for Donovan and ourselves. If that is him sleeping in bed with us sometimes, then so be it. We will all be better for the increased sleep. That night was just not the night to be trying to keep him in his crib and he let me have it. Since then things have been much better, by no means awesome, but I think we have come to a good consensus. Life is good.

Item #2: Formula. This past week I worked fri-sun 7am-7:30pm and had 2 of the craziest days in memory. When I am crazy at work, getting away to pump isn't the easiest thing to do and since on a good pumping day, Donovan still eats more than I make, I was really starting to sweat it. On my days off I would try to pump at least once, if not twice to get enough for one extra feeding so that I could try to replenish my supply. So I have been thinking that we need to try to feed Donovan some formula to see if he would like it just in case it ever gets to a point where Tom is out of breastmilk and needs to feed him. A lot of my friends at work suggested I try it when I am there so if he didn't like it I would be a back up, and also to mix it with some breast milk so that he wouldn't spit it out or not take it since it tasted different. Little do they know that Donovan a) is a fatty and loves him some food and will eat about anything I am sure and b) even loves his nasty tasting vitamin (we call it his "treat") so Tom and I decided to try straight formula for the first try. Here is Auntie Jenna and Donovan on monday with the result.
He liked it! As you can see, Donovan didn't even bat an eye at the difference. He just ate it right up. So now I can relax and not worry so much if I don't get to pump as much as I want to at work. He is such a nice young man. I will still primarily breastfeed, but it is nice to know we have a back up now.

Item #3: Today, Donovan has really found his voice and man is it fun!!! He has been "talking" for a long time now, but today, it is like he is trying to have a conversation with us. Sometimes when he does stuff during the day, he won't do it for Tom at night but that is not the case today. He has been talking, talking, talking and it is so adorable! I hope he keeps it up!

Item #4: Donovan is not ready for rice cereal. See pictures from today.

The cereal you see is everything that went in his mouth. He pushed it all out and then fussed so needless to say we will have to wait and try again soon.

Item #5: Donovan needs a training bra.

Item #6: Donovan is in this fun stage where he will sit on your lap and look out and chew on his hand and just be content. Here is my view when he does that. I call it "A view from up here". It is the sweetest view around :)

Dad Weekend

Ellen is working the whole weekend, so it's just been dad and Donovan at home the whole time. It's been going pretty well. He's really happy in the morning, gets a little cranky in the early afternoon and then happy again in the evening. We do a lot of playing in the jumper because he seems to like it in there. Here now, I give you photographic evidence that he really likes his dad.

We were cheering on the Redbirds.

Getting happier.

A little blurry, but happier still. So happy he can't even control the flow of his own saliva!

This is what I was looking at all weekend!

Landon Donovan

That title's a little soccer reference for my friend Eric. Anyway, this past Tuesday we watched the Blinkinsop baby, Landon, so mom and dad could go on a date. I'm a fan of this "baby trading" policy. Free babysitting! All you gotta do is watch someone else's baby for a few hours. Here are some pics from the event.

Here's the buds hangin' on the chair.


Donovan still has a tough time sitting up on his own.


Here's a shot where it appears that Donovon thinks he is falling off the chair (he didn't).