9 Weeks

His big brothers did this to him. Poor little Santa baby!
Oh the smiles are delightful!

Wow...I have THREE kids!

Nathan is beyond amazing in his care for Liam. He'll make a wonderful dad one day.

Plump Bits and Pieces

Liam has really packed on weight in the past 2 weeks. At his 2 month check up yesterday he weighed in at 13 lbs 8 oz! He was dressed so one could subtract a bit of that weight but when you consider he was at 9.6 lbs two weeks ago it is quite a dramatic jump!

The doctor told me he is in the 90th percentile for his age. Excellent! It's always happy news for the mum to hear her baby is thriving.

Here's some proof of our growing boy....

Chubby legs (inherited from his mother)

Chubby Cheeks


My favorite...a chubby wrist

Smarties

The dreaded report cards came home yesterday. Both kids were so anxious for us to open them! Nathan was a little nervous because he really wanted to make honor roll. Well, he did awesome and easily made the honor roll! We're very happy that all his (and our) hard work paid off. Chad did amazing as well. His reading skills are superior and he is a very well liked member of his class. Both boys did us real proud!!!

Week 8

I started off the week with a random act of kindness! I had my Dad over for brunch after church on Sunday. My mom sometimes has to work on the weekends and I felt sorry for him going home to an empty house. We had waffles with all the toppings, bacon and farmer sausage. Liam gets to try out a Bumbo chair! He likes it for short periods of time. He doesn't really like the feeling of not being able to kick his legs. Thanks for letting me borrow it Kristin.

We paid a visit to the 'aunties' (Kori & Keri) on Wendesday. Liam was cuddled and loved for the afternoon while I sat back and had a nice break. It was great to have some adult conversation!

Liam is sweet, chubby and smiley...lots of fun. Sure beats all the times he's whining, puking and fussing. It's always a variety show around here. The nights are so-so. He is up only once but often has a hard time falling back to sleep after his feed. He is very restless...not crying but not settling down. Any suggestions, mamas?

We take a walk every evening when the weather allows it. Liam has yet to endure a whole walk in his stroller without crying. We decided to try the Snuggli instead and he slept like a baby the whole time. Genius!

Gene Pool

My parents think Liam looks like my brother. I'm not sure! What do you think?

7 Week Update

ANOTHER Liam post. Sorry. Skip to the next blog if you are weary of baby talk!
Here are some snippets of the past week...

Keith and Liam dead to the world in slumber.

Very perky and bright-eyed

As you can see Liam is fully weaned now. The feelings of guilt and failure are beginning to fade as I enjoy seeing Liam thrive and gain weight.

Trying to hard to catch a smile....this is what you get for now.

My mom has us to dinner once a week so she can see Liam. The rest of us are second rate!

6 Weeks

Our little darling is six weeks old today! In the past week he's been giving out a few smiles and generally taking more notice of the world around him. He can stay awake for just about two hours now. He weighed in today at 9 lbs 6 oz! He's definitely not a wee babe anymore.

Everyday we can see changes in him and it's so exciting to watch!

Delicious

Baked Potato & Leek Soup with Bacon and Chives

I am still on a bit of a soup kick from last fall. Decided to try a new recipe for supper yesterday because I have so much spare time on my hands these days :)

Email me if you want the recipe. It's really quite amazing!

My Three Sons

Liam is 5 weeks old now. I could eat his fingers right up! It's so cannibalistic.

Liam is doing a lot better with his bath. He's improved from screaming his fool head off to whimpering. What's not to like, Liam!?


For some reason the boys think diaper changes are a spectator sport. Note Liam flailing about. His startle reflex is excellent!



I thought I should include some pictures of Nathan and Chad too :)

Scatter Brain

Well, this is the first Halloween I didn't take one single picture. I feel very remiss.

I can't change it now though. Sigh...

Nathan wasn't interested in going out this year so he stayed home with Keith and Liam to hand out treats. I took Chad around the neighborhood and he filled his bag within an hour. The houses around here really like to decorate for Halloween and Chad was very complimentary to each home owner.

He would say at each house: Trick or Treat! I like your pumpkins! Happy Halloween! Thank-you!

A very polite boy.

Maybe I didn't think of taking pictures because Liam was very fractious yesterday. His tummy was quite upset. I had a headache and body aches and a very short fuse. Keith was irritable as well.

I like the chance to start fresh each day and after a decent night's sleep (Liam was really tiring from all his screaming) today is looking much better.

Speaking of not taking pictures....I haven't in a while. I shall bring my camera upstairs and make a point of getting some updated ones to post!

Baby Pictures of Course!

Yes, I am really feeling like a SAHM lately. I don't get out much and my life revolves around Liam at the moment. I feel a bit sheltered from the outside world and my blog shows it!

I look forward to getting out and about, being more involved in the kids school, and even taking some time for myself now and again.

Liam is growing right before our eyes. His hands don't look so fragile anymore. They look 'meaty' and I suspect there will be dimples at the base of each finger before long. His nights are getting better. He is usually up only once or twice. Sometimes it's a bit hard to get him back to sleep but Keith takes care of that for me. I only hear about it in the morning!

Here are a few recent photos...

Happenings

My regular Wednesday visitors (who really come to see Liam, not me!) brought over a delicious sushi lunch! It was so good.

Then on Wednesday evening my office put together a baby shower for Liam and I. Liam and I were positively spoiled by excellent food and extremely generous gifts. I was given a MEC backpack so we can trek around with Liam on our backs. Actually to clarify....Keith will be wearing the backpack!

Aretha hosted the shower. Just look at all that fabulous food!
Kori's famous cookies. Isn't she talented?
I wish I could eat like this everyday!
Giving Liam cuddles....he was a perfect baby the whole evening.

Yesterday was my THIRD baby shower! Yes, very blessed! My aunties and cousins put together a joint shower for me and my cousin who is due in February. It was a good time of food, presents and lots of visiting!



Keith gave our cat a bath on the weekend. I had to include this shot as she looks so very ticked off. In reality she didn't mind the bath too much. I think this was her first bath in about seven years. It was time.
Nate and Chad continue to adore Liam. The novelty of having a baby in the house has not worn off at all. They just love him so much.

Dismissed

Sadly, we are now done with the 'baby' doctor. Liam had such a successful check up yesterday that we have been released back into the care of our GP. I am sad in a way because I really liked Dr Drieger.

Liam weighed 7 lbs 11 oz which is a gain of 8.5 ounces in a week. He is finally above his birth weight! The formula seems to be doing the trick.

We have had a few random 'good' nights which gives us hope that we won't always be walking around in a sleepy fog.

Our baby is one month old! Amazing.

3.5 Weeks Old Already

Liam is growing right before our eyes. The days are long but the weeks do fly by. I can't believe we've survived almost a month of 'newborn' stage!



As you can see, Liam's cheeks are filling out. He's not anywhere near being a chubby baby but those cheeks are soft and very kissable.


My s-i-l gave me these very clever little 'Pee Pee Tee Pees' for diaper change time. We tried using one today and he shot the little 'hat' right off with his stream!!!

My Gut Feeling

So, as much as you are probably tired of reading about Liam's eating habits I am tired of stressing about them!

A few nights ago I had made a decision to give Liam a bottle of formula after his feeding. Basically, this was a test to see if he was full after breast feeding or not. He often roots around and sucks his fist after a long feed so I was suspicious. Well....he took to the bottle like he'd been drinking from one all his life and slurped it down so fast! Suspicions confirmed...the child is hungry.

So...for now we are giving him a bottle before bed (and yes this does let us have a good four hour stretch of sleep) or any other time he appears hungry after a feed. It makes me happy to see him happy so now everyone is HAPPY!

Keith is enjoying being able to feed Liam himself instead of me doing all the work :)

Trying to Fatten Up!

Reporting back from our most recent check up at the doctor's office. Liam gained four ounces last week. Dr. D. says slow and steady is good enough for him. So he is now up to 7 lbs 2.5 oz. Not quite at his birthweight but we'll get there.

We told the doctor about Liam's horrible digestive issues. The poor kid farts and pukes and has the loudest digestive sounds coming from his belly. It was recommended that I remove dairy from my diet (boo-hoo!) and that we buy some pro-biotic drops called 'Bio Gaia'. The tiniest vial of liquid you've seen for $32! Liquid gold, I'd say. But if it helps then I really don't care how much it costs!!!

On Thursday night my wonderful girlfriends threw me a baby shower. I feel so spoiled since one usually only gets a shower for their first born. It was 'showered' with so many wonderful gifts and Liam is going to be the best dressed child ever!

This Is Hard

We have good nights and we have bad nights.

A good night means about 5 hours of broken sleep.

A bad night means about 2-3 hours of broken sleep.

It's all catching up with me and I feel like death warmed over.

I want to nap today and will try but usually Liam seems to know when I try to nap and makes that his fussy time!

Anyhow...I can barely put a coherent sentence together here. Going to go and feed the babe and see if I can catch a few winks.

Election Day

A conversation with Chad as we were leaving to go vote:

Chad: Who are you voting for Mom?

Me: It's a secret and I'm not telling.

Chad: I hope you vote for Ed Fast.

Me: Why is that?

Chad: Because his signs are blue and I like that. And Nana told me he's the best one.


If it were only that simple!