Fall Festivals and Football

This weekend was a fun one! Keaton made his first trip to the New Cumberland Apple Festival on Saturday. I must say he did very well for his first trip. He spent most of it asleep in the stroller but did open his eyes from time to time to check things out. Every year I always see so many people I know down there and this year was no different. We must have stopped at least 20 times while we were there to talk to people, most of them couldn't wait to meet Keaton. Every time we stopped for longer than 5 minutes to talk to someone, Keaton would start crying because the movement of the stroller stopped. He did do very well overall and I can't wait to take him in the upcoming years...in a couple years he can make his own scarecrow! : )

Sunday we spent some of the afternoon watching football! GO EAGLES! I had my first lia sophia show since having Keaton later that afternoon. It was so nice to get out and do this again and it was with one of my favorite hostesses. She always has tons of people come to the party and they all just LOVE jewelry! It was a nice time and I made lots of money to boot! My dad and Erik went to the Hershey Bears preseason game in the evening while my mom babysat (just until I got home from my lia sophia show). He did very well for her...I was worried since Keaton has NOT being doing well in the evenings. He screams and cries for a good hour or two in the evenings. He didn't let us down though...not long after I got home he started bawling. Erik is having a hard time dealing with it since he was absent the day God handed out patience. Hopefully he will start calming down because it does make for a difficult evening. I may switch him to a new formula that is more rice based. It may help with the spitting up/acid reflux and make him a little more full after having a bottle. We shall see! Maybe I need to increase his bottles up to 7oz? This parenting stuff is tough! LOL! You really wish they could just talk to you and tell you what's wrong. It's so hard sometimes to figure out what they need. It is a guessing game all the time and I know we are trying our best...that's all you can do!

This week the inlaws arrive again for some McDonald's gala. We decided to have Keaton's baptism this weekend so they can attend. It should be a nice time and I'm hoping Keaton is on his best behavior for the church service <<>>.

Love this pic! Lounging as we watch the game.

Keaton in his overalls


This is a pic of Keaton the day we brought him home from the hospital.

And here he is now! My big boy!!

My Happy Boy!!

Colic? Acid Reflux?

Over the past week or so Keaton has been EXTRA fussy. Most evenings are spent trying to calm him down while he just screams his head off and I do mean SCREAM! We try everything to calm him down but nothing seems to work. He eventually just gets so worn out the he falls asleep. I feel so bad because we don't know what to do to make him feel better. I've been trying to pay real close attention to how he acts throughout the day hoping that I can get things figured out. Colic is something that starts in the first couple weeks after they are born and usually ends by 2-3 months...so, I really don't think this is the problem since he has been a very pleasant baby up until now. This is what I have noticed over the past 2 months that leads me to believe he may have acid reflux issues.

- Recently started spitting up quite a bit after a feeding.

- Sometimes chokes while feeding.

- Coughs at times and makes faces like something came up in his mouth.

- A few times he has stopped breathing for like 5 seconds (so so scary!!!).

- Arches his back while feeding.

- More frequent "wet burps".

- Sudden bouts of screaming...most of which is in the evenings.

He showed a couple signs of this since he was born however, he was always pleasant and it never seemed to bother him. I was always told that if he is happy and doesn't appear to be in pain then he is doing fine but things seem to be making a turn for the worse. I will give him another couple days to see if maybe he just had an upset belly or something and then I will call the doctor to see about what to do. My poor baby! : (

So...I'm a Bad Mother Now?!?!

I just wanted to take a moment to express my frustrations when it comes to the whole breastfeeding vs. formula feeding debate. I'm so sick of getting the blank stares, funny looks, or the "Oh I see" comment following the question, "Are you nursing?" Most people walk up to meet Keaton with huge smiles on their faces soon to be turned upside down once I answer that dreaded question. Why is it so disappointing that I am formula feeding?!?!?!? Formula is not poison people! It is such a shame that society puts an extreme amount of pressure on women these days to breastfeed. Yes, breastfeeding is the top choice of all doctors. Yes, breastfeeding gives a baby the BEST nutrition. Yes, breastfeeding is cheap. But, does anyone think about the positives to formula feeding?!? NO! If anyone takes a moment to actually do some research about formula feeding you will find that it is as close to breast milk as it can get. I chose to formula feed for numerous reasons and looking back it was the best decision I ever made. Both Keaton and I are MUCH more happier since the switch. I was not breastfed as a baby and I am proud to say that I was a VERY healthy child growing up. Now, Erik was breastfed as a baby however he was quite sickly as a child...ear infections every month along with other numerous illnesses. Hmmmmm?!?! I'm not trying to start any type of debate here and I am by no means bashing those out there that breastfeed. I think it is great that you made that decision but don't look down on us formula feeders like we are some type of bad mother (I know that not everyone thinks this way). I give my baby as much love as humanly possible.

Month 2

My baby boy is 2 months old already and weighing 13 lbs. 1 oz. He is my BIG boy now! : ) He is growing like a weed. We had his 2 month check up yesterday and all is well! He is very healthy and happy. Mommy was so worried for his shots hoping it wouldn't hurt him too much. He only had a small scream that lasted about a minute or so and then he was fine. He was only a little extra fussy when we got home but we gave him some Tylenol and he slept for most of the afternoon. The next set of shots will be at his 4 month check up...not looking forward to that again. I hate to see my baby in pain but I know this is necessary for his health.

This past weekend was the start of FOOTBALL!!! YAY! Keaton was all dressed up for the occasion, wearing his Eagles outfit while mommy wore her Eagles jersey. GO EAGLES!!!

Let's see, Keaton is starting to do the following:

- He is smiling a lot

- Grabbing things when placed in his hand and holding my clothes while holding him

- Starting to make cooing sounds (so cute by the way)

- SOOOOO close to rolling over (back to belly)

- Pulling himself forward to sit up

Could this be the start of sleeping through the night?

Keaton surprised us last night and slept from 9pm all the way to 6am...9 hours!! We couldn't believe it when we heard his cries on the monitor to see the clock reading 6:00am. We are hoping that this is the start of something good. : ) I'm not counting on it though...he may need some more time to get it figured out. It was exciting anyway to see that we are going in the right direction.

Keaton is amazing and I am enjoying every second with him. He is growing so much and learning new things every day. He loves to smile and make little sounds all the time. I can't help but smile every time I look at his precious face. I can't wait to watch him grow into a wonderful little boy that will give his father and I so much joy!

My medication seems to be working GREAT! I am so enjoying life right now and feeling awesome. I LOVE spending time with Keaton and taking care of him instead of just going through the motions. I can't stress it enough...if you are feeling down and depressed...SEEK HELP ASAP! I am SOOOOOOO glad I made the call to get some help because it is helping me in every aspect of my life.

We scheduled Keaton's baptism for Oct 4th. My inlaws will be in town that weekend and I definitely wanted them to be here for it. I better get organized and figure out what the plans are for an after party.

Work is going well so far. I'm only working about 15-20 hours a week right now, going in a couple half days a week when Erik is at home. It is working out great since it gives me a chance to get out of the house a little and make some money as well. I also have some lia sophia shows coming up which I am really looking forward to...love everything about lia sophia!

Other than that, nothing much else is going on. Our 4 year wedding anniversary is next week and we plan to spend the evening at The Melting Pot to celebrate while grandma babysits the little man.