Sweet baby smiles

Remington has been smiling so much lately. It's so adorable and I have a million pictures of him smiling. This last week, he has slept through the night 4 days. I don't know what we did differently, maybe he's just getting old enough to sleep longer or we just get up earlier (5:45am to get ready for work). Either way, I hope it lasts. Now, enjoy some cute pictures of our little boy and his smiles. Click on the picture to view it larger.

Winter You Capture

Over at I Should Be Folding Laundry, this week's You Capture theme is Winter.

This is what our winter used to be about: Siberian Huskies Playing in snow.

 

 

Now, our winters and lives revolve around this little guy: Remington all bundled up and with Daddy before Christmas,

 

 

2 Month shots and sleep, what?!

Last night was the first night that Remington has slept through the night! Yay! I was so tired after having to get up with him this weekend (I let Landon get sleep since he worked all weekend), so I told him that it was his turn to get up to feed Remington, and of course, Remington decides to sleep through the night. He's been fighting a little cold, where his nose is stuffy and he coughs, so I didn't know how he was going to sleep. We gave him a bath before bed and feed him in the bathroom with the hot water running for some steam. We also had the humidifier on. We'll try the same thing tonight and see what happens. It might be different, though, because Remington had his 2 month shots today.

I went to the health department today after work. Again, apparently our regular doctor's office doesn't do 2 month shots. Anyway, Remington did very well. He cried, but I've heard him cry harder when he's mad when we change his diaper or he's hungry. When the nurse gave him the first shot, he cried but calmed down right away by sucking on his pacifier. He really cried when she gave him the next two shots. It took a little bit to calm him down, but he did well. Now, we just have to look out for signs of infection or reaction. The nurse said to call 911 if he had a whole body rash or trouble breathing. We also have to look for a fever that won't go away with Tylenol, heat at the injection site, rash on his legs, or persistent inconsolable crying. Right now, he's doing fine just sleeping. He doesn't even have a fever.

i Heart Faces Best Face Photo

 I'm participating in another photo blog carnival for the first time. This one is  i ♥ faces' Best Face Photo. My entry is of Remington (of course) taken this December a day before his 2 month birthday. To see more great photos, check out i ♥ faces.

Daily Baby Essentials

After Remington's first week of day care (minus Thursday's snow day and Monday with my mom) I feel really good. I am gradually getting better at leaving him and I like the daycare setting he's in. I think he's being good for her too and not crying all day. I'm also getting back into the work routine. The only problem, sort of, is Remington has been fighting his first cold. He has been stuffy the last couple days and now he's coughing quite a bit. I think it's because when he snorts in the snot, then he coughs. I guess he's going to have allergies like myself. Poor little guy. Even worse, is that he gets his two month immunizations on Monday. I sure he's not going to be happy.

Photo color edit by me.

When you're pregnant with your first child it's hard to know what baby items you'll truly need on a daily basis for your baby. To help, here's a list of what we use every day. Click on the pictures to follow the link for places to purchase the items.

1. Formula- I didn't think I was going to need this, but since breastfeeding didn't go well... We use Similac Advance shield like they had in the hospital.
2. Diapers- Remington is just now transitioning from newborn to size 1. We use Pampers Swaddlers, the newborn size has a yellow line than turns blue when the diaper is wet- very handy.
3. Crib- I love ours. It was worth the wait, but scary that we only got it three days before he was born.

4. Clothes- A couple of onesies and long sleeve/feeted outfits a day- just in case we have some blow outs, spit ups, or pee accidents.
5. Carseat- I love our Chicco Keyfit 30

6. Pacifiers/WubbaNub- We use them more than I expected, but Remington is just one of those babies who need something to suck on. I recommend the Mam 0-2 months (he holds them in his mouth better than the soothies).

7. Cloth diaper/Burp rags- Burp rags are okay, but the cloth diapers work so much better.
8. Swing- He loves it and falls asleep pretty fast, but he's still a little small since he tends to fall forward or to the side too much. We use the Fisher Price Little Lamb swing.

9. Bouncy/Vibrator seat- We use it when we can't get him to fall asleep in the crib. It's also good to bring along to the grandparents for him to sleep in. We have the Fisher Price Little Lamb one.

 
10. Changing Pad and wipes- We actually have two- one upstairs in his room and one downstairs so we don't have to constantly go upstairs to change him. The wipes I recommend are Huggies- they're thicker than the cheap brands and easier to get out of the box one at a time.
11. Blankets- Remington likes being cuddled up in them.
12. Sleep sacks/outfits- They keep him warm at night without a blanket, which is a SIDS no no.
13. Boppy-  Was awesome for breastfeeding, and continues to be great for holding him during bottle feedings, for him to lay on. Much easier than proping up regular pillows and easy on your shoulders after holding an increasingly heavy baby.

14. Bottles- Again, I didn't expect to use, but oh well. Right now we just use the Medela ones that go with the breast pump we have, but they're not vented. We also have one vented Playtex bottle.
15. Diaper bag- Holds all his junk, :)
16. Hooded towels and baby bath items- To keep him clean.

Photo color edit by me.

The following are things I thought we'd use, but haven't:
1. Diaper rash cream- Remington hasn't had a problem with this yet.
2. Rattles or any toys- He's not interested in them quite yet.
3. Baby hats- He doesn't like them very much and they just seem like a pain.
4. Baby mittens- He's scratched himself, but it's easier to clip his nails
5. Lanolin- Didn't use after breastfeeding stopped working
6. Breast pump- Again, the failure of breastfeeding...

That's my list at a little over two months, hope it helps someone.

Back to Work

These last two days have been hard.

Monday was my first day back to work after maternity leave. My mom came to our house to watch Remington. I was good with leaving him and heading to work. All day at work I was so busy that I barely had to time think about not being with Remington. Then I came home. I still wasn't upset about being gone all day. After my mom left and Landon got home, though, I realized how much I had missed him. I started crying again. By this time, I think Landon thinks I'm starting to go nuts with how much I cry. I've cried more these past two months than I have in years. He understands though. I just felt so many mixed emotions. I missed Remington, but I was glad to have a break. I was bored at home, but didn't want to go back to work. I just didn't know how to feel.

Today was worse in the morning. Last night I was also crying because I was nervous about today. Remington went to daycare for the first time ever. I know the daycare person is perfectly capable, but it's hard to let someone you barely know watch your baby all day. I can't wait until I can pick him up again. I was good to drop him off, but cried a little bit when I was in the car and leaving to head to work. It's also hard when people ask me if it was hard to leave him and come back because it is. I don't want to talk about it to coworkers though, because I'll end up crying again. I also know nothing really about daycare. I never went to daycare and don't really know how it all works.

I felt bad yesterday and today when Remington smiled at my mom and the daycare lady instead of looking at me. I now know how Landon felt when I was seeing him smile, but Remington wouldn't really smile at him when he got home. I know in my head that everything will work out and that Remington knows who his mom is, but it's still hard when he'll go to and smile at anyone. I'm going to be a mess when he gets old enough to not want to leave me.

Weird things people say and the end of maternity leave

When you cart a baby around with you 24/7 you're going to have people ask about the baby. Most of the time they ask how old he is. I don't really have people ask me if Remington is a boy or girl- I think he definitely looks like a boy and I usually have him dressed in blue. One weird thing people ask is if he's a good baby... How are you supposed to respond to that? No, he's always disobeying and back talking me. One more night of his crying and I'm shipping him off to military school. I mean, what do people expect you to say? I just respond with, Yes, he's pretty good.

I haven't updated about Remington's 2 month doctor appointment yet, so here it is: Remington's doctor appointment was last Wednesday (Dec. 30). He was weighed first thing and was 9 pounds 11 1/2 ounces! I'm so glad he's continuing to gain weight. He's still in the 10th %ile though. He hasn't gotten any longer- 21 1/4 inches (5th %ile), or a bigger head either- 15 inches (10th %ile). The doctor didn't seem concerned though since we had so many problems at first. Just as long as he's going, it's okay for now. The doctor checked his heart, lungs, and movement. He has good neck control when he's sitting upright, but still can't quite support it when he's lifted from being on his back. It was amusing when she was trying to get him to lift and turn his head when laying on his stomach. She put him on his stomach on the doctor table thing and had me go to the side in which he didn't have his head turned. Then she had me talk to him and try to get him to lift and turn his head to see me. He tried so hard. He just kicked his legs and flailed around so much she thought he was going to roll over (which he didn't- he can't quite accomplish that milestone yet). He kicked and kicked until he was rotating himself around to face me. It was very cute. Even though he can't quite turn his head, he's pretty good on milestones.
I thought the doctor was going to give him his 2 month immunizations, but apparently I have to set that up with the health department. I'll give them a call on Monday.

Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I'm so not looking forward to it. It will be nice to get a break from Remington, but I know I'll miss him too. I'm just worried about how much I stress about work anyway that now it's going to be worse since I'm stressed taking care of Remington. Tomorrow won't be so bad since my mom will be watching him at our house, but then it's off to daycare. I've blogged about daycare before here and here. I'll let you know how the first week back to work goes, until then...