3 Months

Wow how the time has flown! Hudson, you are such blessing to our family. Your smile makes me want to move mountains for you. You are so "talkative" lately... constantly making noises and laughing. My favorite noise is when you sound like an owl. You still HATE tummy time. You refuse to push up with your arms to hold your head up and try to turn over. You look like you could turn over at any minute one day but then the next you won't even try. It's very frustrating to me but I know that you'll do it in your own time.

 Tomorrow is Halloween and Dede made you the most precious candy corn outfit! You are now wearing 3-6 month clothes. You will start wearing size 2 diapers tomorrow (since you only have a couple size ones left). You weigh 14 lbs. You are 24 inches long. You're really starting to look chunky and of course you are the cutest baby ever. You eat 4-6 ounces every 3-4 hours. You are still waking up between 2:00 & 3:00 to eat. You go back to sleep pretty easily. You are teething! I can feel a little poke on the bottom left... feels like the lateral incisor or the cuspid (see picture) even though you're not supposed to get this tooth for another year! You love chewing on your hand. You are much more aware of the things going on around you. When you woke up the past two mornings, you stopped crying as soon as you saw me and gave me the biggest smile! You are able to stay awake a lot longer than even a week ago. You still love your activity mat. We tried you in the Johnny Jump Up for a little bit today. You weren't quite sure what to think of it but you enjoyed swinging back and forth and spinning around in circles. Your schedule is still a little wonky and it drives me bananas! You typically eat at 2am, 6/7am, 9/10am, 1/2 pm, 4/5pm, 6/7pm, 10pm - now.... that 6/7am feeding, you may only take 1-2 ounces, then the 9/10am, you may only take another 1-3 ounces, but by 1/2pm, you seem to be ready to eat. So even though some days you may eat 6-7 times, you are still only eating about 30-35 ounces... which is recommend for your weight.

First time to FINALLY meet Uncle JonJon!!!!!

The shirt you wore just for JonJon's visit!

Aunt Mandy loving on you :)

Day trip to Target with Me & Daddy - love this shirt!
I bought it especially for you because Daddy always has on sunglasses

The look on your face crack me up! I can't believe you are 14 big ones!

You were really sleepy when I put this on you :)

Lots of room to grow :)

These are the prayer cards :)

Odds & Ends

All of our pictures this week are from bath time because that's essentially the only time I get to spend with you awake. You are such a happy baby! Daddy seems to always make you laugh and smile no matter what. You and Dede have a blast during the day.... whether you're running errands or having a pajama day.  You got to hang out with Pawpaw's brother John and his wife Elaine this week. We all got to go to lunch one day. It was so much fun to spend time with them and with you in the middle of the day. You still love your activity mat and rocker seat. We are trying to get your schedule straightened out again. We had a great schedule going before you had that stomach virus a couple of weeks ago and it threw us for a loop. We are trying to get back on a 6, 10, 2, 6, 10 schedule. So far, so good. You love sleeping on your belly but it's not safe if you're not being checked on frequently since you still can't roll over. We are still fighting the thrush with nasty nystatin 4 times a day. After your 6 pm bottle, you get a bath and then we sit in your room and read a couple of books. I really do want to get a good bedtime habit going. If you don't know already, I crave a routine... a real schedule that's not hugely flexible. One night, you were so sleepy that we didn't read and you went straight to bed. It felt wrong. I really missed that time with you. During your 10 pm bottle, you usually sleep, eat 5-6 oz and never wake up even when I change your diaper. I'm very careful not to talk to you or make eye contact with you (if you open them randomly) during this bottle because I want you to keep sleeping. If you catch my eye or hear my Hudson voice, you're awake. I do pray (whispering) over you during this time. I can't tell you how much I love this time with you. Aunt Rachel gave us some prayer cards when we found out you were going to be a boy. They help me to remember to pray for some specific things for your life. This week, my focus has been praying that you will love God and come to know him at an early age. I pray that you are not fearful, that you trust God wholly. I pray that you are strong and courageous. I pray that your Daddy and I seek and listen to God's guidance for us as your parents. I love you sweet baby! You are such an amazing blessing in our lives!

Almost 11 weeks old

Hey Monkey!

I love you more than you can imagine! You are growing so big! You got over your stomach virus by Saturday last week and we have been crazy busy ever since. Last weekend was non-stop and I feel like I barely got to see you or hold you! I'm really hoping that this weekend will be much more calm and relaxed. Daddy is off this weekend so I'm looking forward to some quality time with just the three of us. We are all three going in opposite directions all day... I'm at work, Daddy is asleep (working nights), and you are at Dede's. I long for days spent together.

You love sleeping on your belly

First day back to work for me. You can see how very excited I look!

YAY!!! I'm home!

You've never felt better in my arms!

Second day back to work

Things you love right now....

• sleeping on your belly
• bathtime
• people acting silly
• your activity mat
• eating every 2-3 hours... not every 4 - we tried to put you on a 4 hour schedule but you refused to eat more than 1 or 2 ounces at a time. It still doesn't make sense to me how you can eat 4 ounces every 2-3 hours but won't eat every 4 hours.
• being outside & enjoying this amazing fall weather
• sleeping on my chest - ok... I think you could sleep anywhere but this is my absolute favorite!
• waking up at all hours of the night, thinking it's playtime!!

You and Dede made Mommy some fudge :)

You slept through your first wedding -
The bride is Caitlin Carter - Mommy & Dede used to babysit for her & Stevi... now they're all grown up!

Sister of the bride - Stevi

You & Nathan (born June 20, 2011)
He weighs 16 lbs and you weigh 12 lbs

Your first medicines

Sickness

Hey sweet little man.

You had to go to the doctor today for your first sick visit. After 2 really bad diapers at 3am and 9am, I called the office. They said to go ahead and bring you in since this was so abnormal for you. Amazing how last week all I wanted was for you to poop... now we can't get it to stop! I was worried that you were having a reaction to the Lactulose or the vaccinations. I was able to scoot out of work a little early for lunch and meet you and Dede at the pediatrician's office. We saw Dr. Snell (who also saw me as a kid). They did some blood work which pointed to a stomach virus. She also confirmed that you have thrush, which I've thought for some time but had been told that it was just formula residual because you had just eaten. She ordered some Nystatin for the thrush. The virus will have to run it's course. You will need to eat more frequently to stay hydrated and nourished until you're back to normal. I feel so terrible that you are sick. You are handling this much better than I am! You're still happy even with a tummy ache. It's breaking my heart to pieces that I have to work and won't be with you but I know you are in good hands with Dede. We are so blessed baby.

She couldn't help but pinch those cheeks!