The well-traveled baby

Last month Sam had the opportunity to add two more states to his list. We took a road trip down to Atlanta to visit Dede and G Daddy and then flew to Dallas to meet up with some dear college friends! This was our first road trip since May, when Sam was four months old and we drove to Ashleign & Gabe's wedding in Knoxville. It went about as well as I expected. There were some rough times, but I think I timed it as well as I could. I did the same thing both ways: Departed immediately after he woke up and ate (stayed in PJs to keep it comfy), and stopped for a 30 minute break after his first nap to refuel the car and our bellies. Mom had everything we needed in Atlanta: Pack and Play, highchair, stuff for the bath, diapers, etc etc so it was pretty easy to pack a few clothes and go. I have seen the DVD players that attach to the back of the seat, and while I am generally against TV for babies, I think it could make the travel easier when we get to the "I'm just mad at being tied down in this silly seat" stage of the trip.

We got to meet Maddox Low and Huck Belknap while we were there, and hang out with Martha and Lyndsey too! Hopefully next time I will get to introduce Sam to my other friends from high school.

Hanging out with G Daddy

On the slides with Dede

Barkley wanted to go too... Sam thought this was funny :)

Here I come!

He just loves these two. And they spoiled him with kisses and toys :)

So squeezable.

Aunt Aylett came in town to visit, too!

We returned home on Saturday just in time to make it to Sam's buddy Will's 1st birthday party. Will and Sam spent 4 months together during the day after I went back to work, so we were eager to help him celebrate his big day. Will had a blast at the party and once Sam took his time observing everyone, he made some friends too. Will and Sam's sweet nanny Stephanie was there too, so it was fun to be reunited with her.

Buddies in the ball pit

Reunited. Sam's not sure what Will's doing to his ear.

The next Friday we packed up again and hopped on a plane to Dallas! I was very nervous about this flight. Although Sam did great on the flight to Florida in May, he is a very wiggly worm these days, and also much louder. :) Thanks to our kind seatmate who switched into another open seat (I'm sure he was just as happy about this arrangement), we had 2 seats to ourselves which was KEY. I had brought a pumped bottle, which I gave him as we took off. I thought he'd go to sleep after eating his bottle but he had a hard time falling asleep so I ended up nursing him to sleep anyway.

When we got to Dallas, Anne picked us up and we went back to her house to pick up the twins. They are so much bigger than the last time I saw them (about a year ago) and so cute and active! Their personalities are totally different, so amazing even at 18 months. Sam had a blast crawling around after them all weekend. After that, we got back in the car, went to the airport and picked up other friends. Then back in the car down to the ranch, which ended up being a little longer than planned. :) Sam got flustered at one point when he was having a hard time falling asleep, but overall I was so proud of him for being a great trooper. He went straight to bed when we got to the ranch.

It rained pretty much the whole weekend but that was ok as the guys all stayed inside watching football and golf and the girls got to catch up over coffee. And the babies just crawled around and played. Trips are MUCH different with children!!! We did go for a walk on Saturday and saw some horses. Unfortunately, I ended up catching the tummy bug on Saturday night and decided to change my flight to go home Sunday instead of Monday, so we got to see Jess for a few minutes, but missed visiting with our other Dallas friends. Maybe we will make it out there again sometime soon.

I forgot to pull out the camera to take too many pictures, but here is a pic of the three nuggets in the bathtub!

Change in plans... I'm now a SAHM!

Hello to you faithful readers out there! I hope to be able to update the blog a little more frequently as I have a little bit more time on my hands these days. I'm a little overwhelmed at the thought of trying to recap the past 4 months though, so we'll just dive right in to current happenings. 

Last month, David and I made the decision for me to quit my job to stay at home with Samuel full-time. This was something that we had talked about for a while (really it is what I always thought and hoped I would be able to do), but just didn't see how it would work financially. However we kept praying about it and our small group from church was faithful to pray about it too. Well, a few unforeseen things fell into place that gave us a little more money each month, and I realized that so much of my motivation to keep working was fear of not having enough money to do the things we wanted to do. We don't just blow money left and right anyway, but we always had a small budget for gifts and travel, as well as dining out occasionally, etc, and I when I compared my desire to be at home with Sam every day to my desire to afford those things I realized that I while I did want both, I would rather have the ability to stay at home with Sam all day. I also really loved my job and the company (and people) that I worked for, and felt bad because they had invested in me and supported me, but ultimately I knew that wasn't a great reason to stay either.

Coworker snapped this picture as I was finishing up a few last emails.

So as of August 19, I have been a stay at home mom! I'm not going to lie, that first week was rough. I was happy to be able to play with Sam, but his schedule was all out of whack and I was having the hardest time getting him to nap. If you haven't had a child you don't understand how stressful it can be to listen to your child cry. I think I ate 10 cookies a day, just sitting there listening to the monitor while I tried to get him to take a nap. I also wasn't extremely consistent - I'd let him cry to a certain point then go get him because I didn't think he would ever go to sleep. His night sleep started to regress as a result of his terrible naps, too. So that weekend I did some research and formulated a plan for Week 2: Nap Bootcamp. To my great relief, it worked wonderfully (after a few rough naps). If you'd like more details on what worked for us, let me know. :)

Week 1 of staying home... much happier when not napping!

Waking up after day 3 of Nap Bootcamp.

I feel like I haven't totally gotten into my SAHM rhythm yet, but we're getting there. We have been frequenting the farmers markets, library story and music times, public pools and neighborhood parks. The house has been getting some much-needed cleaning attention as well. And Otis is thrilled to be invited on walks and to the park across the street. One thing I was really looking forward to was being able to exercise more often. I did not exercise at ALL as a working mom, save for a walk on the weekends here and there. However, I guess my laziness is showing because I still haven't been able to really work exercise into my daily routine quite yet. Sam isn't a huge fan of the stroller these days so I feel kind of bad strapping him in when he would rather be crawling around. Tomorrow we're going to try out the childcare at the YMCA... wish me luck!

Sam at 6 months (end of July)

4.5 month post

Oops - I just discovered this post, written on June 10. I meant to finish it and include pictures, but (obviously) did not get around to it. We'll just call this the 4.5 month post:

Well quite a bit has happened in baby-years since my last post on April 4.

Major events: Discovered dairy and soy allergy. I went back to work. I had surgery. We traveled to Florida and Tennessee. I got sick. David got sick. Samuel got sick.

Meanwhile, the developmental milestones continued like crazy! Sam learned how to reliably roll over from back to front, reach for and grasp items, play peek-a-boo, laugh, squeal with delight, and observe all sorts of things that escaped his notice before, like Dad's voice in another room when we're trying to nurse, or Otis moving around the room. He will also scoot forward toward a goal (or sometimes backward by accident).

Somehow despite multiple challenges I have managed to continue breastfeeding and it's going really well! I plan to continue as long as possible and would love to not have to give Samuel formula at all.

New Skillz

Every day, Sam is learning new tricks! It's so fun to watch his skills develop as he gets more coordinated. A week ago, at his 2 month checkup, I asked our doctor if I should be concerned that he didn't seem to be reaching for his toys. When I would put him under the toys, they would catch his eyes and he would follow them, but that was it. (She probably laughed internally at my new-mom desire to make sure he was checking off the milestones but sweetly assured me that he was doing just fine).  A couple days later I snapped the picture below when he was waving his arms around and accidentally caught a wooden ring. He looked so proud of himself!

Look what I caught in my wildly waving hands!

Yesterday I put him underneath a particular dangling rattle toy and he stared and stared and smiled and talked to it, then started waving his hands around totally missing it. Well when I put him in the same spot this morning, he immediately started batting at it, with pretty good success! He's obviously going to be brilliant. :)

Tummy time has changed dramatically as well - see video below. He still doesn't just *love* tummy time though. Sometimes his head will be so top-heavy that he'll just flip right over and he looks so relieved to be on his back again. Haha.

Happy 2 Month Birthday!

Yesterday was Samuel's 2 month birthday and to celebrate, we went to the doctor (whom we love) and got shots (which we hate). We have had some ups and downs this month, but the best part has been being able to see the beginnings of his little personality! He has several very alert times every day where we just sit and smile and talk to each other. He recognizes me and David and will smile pretty quickly, and he'll occasionally hand out the smiles to other people as well.

We're getting into more of a routine when it comes to naps and sleeping. Here's how it goes: starting around 7am, he has his first meal of the day. (The 7am time is verrrrry loose at this point and ranges from 6:30 to 8:30 in reality, but I'm trying to stick to it as I think it will really help structure the rest of the day). Then he is basically awake for around 90 minutes, takes a nap, eats, and repeats. Most naps last 45 minutes on the dot, but sometimes he'll stretch them out or I'll be able to get him to go back to sleep in my arms for another 45. He eats pretty much every 2.5 hours, sometimes 3. He eats really quickly, to the point where I wonder if he's getting enough of the good stuff. It usually takes him around 5 or 6 minutes total to eat. I'm starting to pump more and he'll be getting a bottle every night from now on to help make sure he gets enough hindmilk. We have a little bedtime routine that I really think has helped the last couple of days. We turn on the noise machine, change diaper if necessary, turn off the lights, rock and maybe sing a song, then he goes into the crib swaddled up with pacifier and a little hat pulled down on his forehead. At night after his evening feeding around 6, he takes a bath and gets a little lotion massage and we read a book before starting the routine.

I get a little cranky when I don't get my naps, Mama

At night he still wakes up every 3 to 4 hours or less, and seems to think it's morning at 5am... I'm hoping the bottle at 10 or 11 will help his belly to fill full and help him sleep longer stretches! 

This routine and very loose "schedule" really seems to help structure the day, but it gets thrown off whenever we go out and about since he hasn't really started to consolidate those naps yet and still gets sleepy every hour to hour and a half. I feel a little guilty about that, but I also know that it makes me feel better and more connected to the world to get out, so I just try to limit the activities we do each day to one or two short outings per day.




Weight: 11lbs, 14 oz (50th percentile)
Height: 23.75 inches (75-85th percentile)
Clothes: Still wearing his newborn gowns, 0-3month clothes, and now some 3-6 months with the cuffs flipped up
Diapers: We are using the cloth diapers during the day, most days! I'll do a separate post about my experiences so far, but overall they have been successful - no leaks or blowouts at all.

That's a big diaper you have there, buddy!

The cloth diapers make his 3-6 month clothes fit rather nicely!

Likes: Diaper/clothes changing time, bath time, his animal friends on the crib mobile, balancing his bobble head (did I mention his head size is in the 90th percentile?!) and trying to stand up in our laps, his giraffe pacifier, being outside and feeling the breeze

Enjoying some sun in the backyard

A little skeptical about the Deacs' performance this year.

Splish splash

  
Dislikes: Waking up, sun in his face, stoplights, wet cloth diapers, burping, dairy (maybe?), shots

LIFE IS SO HARDDDDDD

Waking up is tough sometimes.

Nicknames: Sam, Fox, Sam Sam the Monkey Man, Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Balloon Hands

First smile that I caught on camera!

Songs: Old McDonald, Row Row Row Your Boat, and made up songs about whatever we happen to be doing at the moment.

Cutie

Favorites: Smiling and talking and trying to make him laugh, having him rub his head into my chest when he's sleepy, and seeing him light up when he sees/hears Daddy

My three favorite boys in the world

Highlights: We had some fun visitors this month! Jessica and Michael were in town for a wedding in Chapel Hill and came over for the afternoon to meet Samuel and see our new home. Then Courtney and Nic came in town for a few days and we had a great time. Finally, Danny and Sarah have been in town because they are moving up here this summer after little Owen is born and they went ahead and moved all of their stuff up to their new house. 

This past weekend, we had a little birthday party for David, and Sam got to meet lots of our friends. We had Little Richards BBQ and hung out in the kitchen and on the screened porch. It's been awhile since we have had friends over and it was a lot of fun. I forgot to take a picture of Sam wearing his first smocked outfit, a super cute hand-me-down from cousin Cooper.

We are joining a church here in Winston, Salem Presbyterian, and Sam and I have started going to a weekly home fellowship group which has been awesome. It's at Erin and Austin's house, and they are expecting little Silas in May so Sam will have another little buddy in the group! David is working nights at the hospital so that has been a little tough for all of us, but it has some perks too because for one thing, he actually gets to see the light of day, and he has been able to help out sometimes in the mornings when Samuel wants to get up at 5:30 and I want him to stay asleep a little longer! David gets home most days around 6:15 so he'll take over and rock Sam until it's time to feed him so I can go back to sleep. Niiiice.

Some more photos from the month: 

I could just eat him right up.

Aunt Courtchop came to town!

So gratifying to have someone think you're so funny

Showing off his neck muscles

We love you, little Samuel! You are the best baby in the whole world and we love watching you grow. You are so, so, so loved.

Samuel's 1 month update

I really can't believe it's already been (over) a month since Sam was born. Actually, today is his five-week birthday. He seems much less "breakable" these days but is still pretty delicate and often confusing as to what he actually wants. I'm squeezing in this post while he takes a probably way too short nap, so I'm going to give you just give a quick rundown rather than wax poetic about how wonderful he is (he's the best baby ever made) and how much we love him (we adore every little grunt, half-smile, and poopy diaper) because that could take me hours!

Weight: 10 pounds, 2 ounces (90th percentile)

Height: 22.5 inches long (95th percentile).

Clothes: Can wear some newborn clothes (he's too long for footies but can wear NB gowns still) and 0-3 month sizes

Diapers: Wears size 1 in disposables. Tried the cloth diapers once but they seemed too big and when I washed it, it was really stained. I decided to hold off for a little while longer.

Likes:  music (all kinds), singing, sound machine for sleeping, kisses, his hands, his changing table by the window, baths, his black and white pattern board, pacifiers, having his hair brushed, sound of running water, and laying in his crib to watch his mobile

Love to play with my hands

Dislikes: Sleeping in his crib, not being fed IMMEDIATELY when he wakes and is hungry, gas in his belly, his swing (hates it when he's awake but he likes it ok when he's swaddled and sleepy), falling asleep for naps

This face means "pick me up and give me my pacifier NOW"

Nicknames: Sam, Fox, Mr. Balloon Hands, Little One/Little Man, Lovebug

Songs: You are my sunshine, Jesus loves me, ABCs, and Come thou fount of every blessing. I am pretty sure that he recognizes these four songs and smiles sometimes when I sing them!

Music time with dad

Favorites: Seeing him smile when we kiss him or sing to him.  The laugh he does in his sleep (seriously adorable). Taking naps together with his warm little body curled up on my chest. His super fine baby hair and the way he smells after a bath.

The best!

Highlights of the month: His birth, obviously. First smiles. Holding his head up like a champ - his mouth opens like he's saying "whoooaaaa look at me!" And the night that he slept for 5 hours straight without feeding was glorious. Too bad it only happened once!

We are completely enamored with our little lovebug and love him to pieces. Happy one-month birthday Sam!

Team Hiller (not pictured: Otis)

Back in action!!

Guess what... I'm back!!! I'm not sure who even still has my blog in their reader or checks it at all (Lynds - you might be the only one) but I have an urge to document these days as they fly by us so I'm starting it back up!

Funny story... the last blog post I wrote was exactly a month before we found out that we were expecting our little bundle of sweetness. Oh how I had NO IDEA! Haha! Things have certainly changed since then.

Let's bring the ol' blog up to speed, shall we?
- May was a crazy month: We said goodbye to our friends, my job, & our first house, celebrated our four-year anniversary, moved in with David's parents for a couple of weeks, I drove to Atlanta with Otis in tow and then drove back to Shreveport for David's graduation, then we both drove back to Atlanta for Courtney's wedding week.

- In June we celebrated Courtney and Nic's wedding and lived with my parents (they went from an empty nest to having all six of us and three dogs in the house, with Courtney the only one actually going to work every day!). On June 8 we found out that I was pregnant! WOW!!! We went to Mobile and Natchez and told my parents the good news on Father's Day. On June 20, we moved to Winston-Salem and also found out that the job I thought I had lined up was not going to work out after all. The movers also severely damaged most of our furniture. That was a rough day.

-David started work on July 1 and on July 5 we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time! Our initial due date was estimated at Feb. 17. On July 7 we had an ultrasound and they moved the due date back to January 23. I was looking for a job and trying to figure out what I was going to do.

 

- I interviewed and was offered a job in August at ettain group as an IT recruiter. I starting training at the end of the month. I was so nervous about interviewing while pregnant and how to handle that situation and decided to share the information with my boss after I was offered a position but before I accepted it. I feel so blessed that my job worked out the way it did!


-On September 1 we found out that we would be having a little BOY! I traveled to Asheville for Anna's bachelorette party and at the end of the month we flew to Denver to visit Courtney and Nic for a week.

 

 -In October we were busy busy. WFU Homecoming brought a bunch of friends to town and our house was a giant slumber party with all beds and couches full - so much fun. I traveled to Dallas and got to meet the Evans boys and Forrest Taylor - all adorable. 

-November flew by as I entered my third trimester. We celebrated Anna and Joe's wedding and I flew to Shreveport for a wonderful baby shower. We had a quiet Thanksgiving with just David and me at home and felt truly thankful for our blessings.

 -In December I started to get anxious and felt very unprepared for childbirth and taking care of a baby; luckily in the first week of the month, we attended the concentrated childbirth series at the hospital as well as a breastfeeding class, and I chose a pediatrician and hired a doula. Whew - that felt better. Christmas was spent in Atlanta and for New Years I headed down to the Zazworksys' farm for a fun time and sweet baby shower with the Wake girls and dates. (My date was the baby... David had to work).

- in January our lives changed forever when baby Samuel was born on a BEAUTIFUL spring-like day - January 28!

And that brings us up to speed. Oh how things have changed! Sam's first month update coming up next...