Wesley [1 year]

Holy cow, we have a ONE YEAR OLD! It doesn't seem real at all, but according to the calendar Wesley is now over 12 months of age. I look at him, and he doesn't look any different or older to me. He doesn't look like a toddler. Well, apparently he is, and all I want to do is rewind the clock and hold my tiny baby so tightly that he can't grow any bigger. While I wish such an irrational thought as that were true, it isn't, and I instead have to get to enjoy watching this beautiful and bright boy continue to grow and learn and blossom into a wonderful, young person whom I look forward to knowing. For now, I will pretend to pause that clock and will recap all of the amazing moments and memories from Wesley's last 'official' month of babyhood.

Size: Dare I say, this child has finally grown a touch? Yes! We've retired a few pair of footie pajamas recently. Even though he still fits in a few 3-6 month zipper jammies, the sleeves are a little short, and there isn't much room in the feet. Wesley's 6 month pants are a little short, even though they still fit fine in the waist. The next size up we have in Simon's hand-me-downs is 12 months, which are mostly too big for Wesley's tiny waist. I think that 9 months is probably a better fit for Wesley across most infant clothing brands out there.

Health: At his 12 month well baby appointment Wesley measured 29.5 inches (33rd percentile) and weighed 18 pounds, 10 ounces (11th percentile). This weight is 2.5 ounces less than what he weighed on our home scale at 10 months and 11 months old. Our pediatrician wants to see Wesley increase his caloric intake, mainly with table food, which shouldn't be an issue since he happily eats everything we put in front of him. Poor baby was also seen by the doctor for a nasty cough stemming from his first chest cold, as his previous bugs in the past have all been head colds irritating his sinus passage. Although it sounded awful, the cough passed relatively quickly with lots of extra fluids and the help of Wesley's new humidifier he got for his birthday. (Thanks, Laura!)

Feeding: Wesley wasn't regularly eating three meals a day before his birthday, but his meals with solids usually included a LOT of food (much like his Daddy and older brother, they can all eat like it's going out of style). He ate everything at Thanksgiving dinner including turkey, mashed potatoes (minus the green onion Eric added), green rice casserole, candied yams (minus the marshmallows), green beans, and a little bit of pumpkin pie! New foods that he enjoyed during his twelfth month include Cheerios, ravioli, and pierogi. Wesley is starting to do better with larger pieces of food and shows more control and patience with how much he puts in his mouth, although there are still occasions where he's too excited and shoves way too much in there. He loves to eat apples by the slice and even bit into a whole apple that he shared with Simon and Cho-Cho. Wesley happily drinks lots of water from his straw sippy during the day and is still nursing on demand.

Sleep: Nighttime slumber is coming a little easier these days. Wesley is only waking about twice a night now, which is a welcomed improvement. When he had a stretch of nearly six hours, it made for some much needed rest for Mommy and Daddy. Wesley's back teeth are still working their way out, so I don't expect him to be sleeping completely through the night until all them have come in. For this reason, I see no point in transitioning him out of our bed if we are still continuing to get up two times a night. Naps are pretty scheduled with one in the late morning and one in the mid-afternoon. I've noticed that we have an extra cranky baby if we deviate from that schedule for whatever reason, such as if we're out running errands or attending a get-together.

Milestones: We have had fun encouraging and cheering on our bug as he figures out walking. In his twelfth month Wesley could stand independently for a few seconds at a time and even managed a few steps. This happened mostly when he was distracted by something and not paying so much attention to holding on for support or maintaining his balance. He's very skilled in walking while pushing an object such as our lightweight Lego table and his Mega Bloks scooping wagon Cho-Cho got for his birthday. I've noticed Wesley squatting more, which is a funny-looking position for him, and his ability to sit up from lying on his back is now an effortless transition for him. His memory is amazing as he's learned the entire layout of our house and crawls from room to room with purpose. That boy knows exactly where to find me when I'm in the shower and will abandon play with Daddy to come greet me while I'm getting clean.

Likes: This busy body cannot be contained when he's curious and determined. Wesley loves to crawl onto the fireplace bricks way too much. It makes me nervous that he'll hit his head, regardless of the fact that we've yet to build a fire in the house since it's been cold. To keep him away from danger and injury, we blocked off the fireplace with a 6-panel play yard that our neighbor across the street gave to us when she was getting rid of a bunch of her grandson's baby items. The gate also worked wonders doubling as baby-proofing the enticing Christmas tree. Wesley's arms are long enough to reach over the top of the gate, but aren't long enough for him to actually get a strong enough hold of anything and cause damage. Other things Baby enjoys getting his fingers on are the toys we keep in toy bins between the car seats in both cars. Wesley knows the drill and automatically reaches into the bin for something to chew on as we prepare to buckle him into his seat. He is also fond of dumping out baskets or containers of toys at home and putting the items back in one by one. He'll repeat this process over and over, and I clap to give him praise of this new skill that will later lead to learning how to clean up.

Dislikes: Although he's very much a social butterfly, Wesley was being more clingy during his twelfth month and wasn't as accepting of being held by other people. He would happily go to the welcoming arms of any of our friends when we were camping back in August, but this changed into fussiness and immediately reaching back for us when in the arms of anyone other than Mommy, Daddy, or Cho-Cho (my dad is still watching Wesley for me when I'm at work, so Wesley is very comfortable being with him). Wesley was only somewhat cooperative when being held by Pappy and Auntie (whom came home to visit!) during Thanksgiving and his birthday party, as well as with other party goers and with various friends at additional events. I know that his shyness is a natural part of development as he enters early toddlerhood, but I do look forward to seeing Wesley more easily enjoy interacting with different people in our lives and being comfortable in their company.

Social: While in the comfort of his most familiar faces Wesley is very active and talkative. I'm finally convinced that "Mama" and "Dada" have meaning to Wesley. When he crawls though the house on a quest to find me, Wesley chants "Mama" the whole time until we meet with smiles. He also says "Dada" when Eric arrives home and greets him with an excited and happy face. Wesley can wave and says "hi," can sign ALL DONE and has tried to voice it as well, and is making tons more babbling sounds like he's carrying on a complete conversation with himself or anyone else close enough to hear. My new favorite communication from Wesley that I absolutely cannot resist is when he crawls over and reaches up as a request to be picked up. He spreads his cute, little fingers as far out as possible and always has the best, most happy expression on his face.

Other Updates: Our first Halloween as a family of four was very fun. We'd already warmed up our costumes at the ASL Harvest Festival earlier in the month, so we were excited and ready to get dressed up again for trick-or-treating. James and Lilly joined us at Laura and Lucian's house, which made it really special to be with Pappy and Uncle Ben for Wesley's first candy haul experience. I wore him in the Tula as we navigated the neighborhood, and he did a really good job keeping on his minion hat while I carried his bucket full of treats. Both he and Simon made out pretty well and got lots of chocolate to share with Mommy and Daddy! We also celebrated Wesley's last "First Holiday"--Thanksgiving--with a turkey dinner at our house. Pappy and Cho-Cho dined with us, and Auntie and Teresa visited with the boys later in the evening. I was so happy and grateful to share this holiday with everyone in our family, especially our two boys. We look forward to another year of celebrating and making memories together with our darling Wesley Woo. We love you so much, Baby Bear! Thank you for coming into our lives and giving us joy and love greater than this whole world.

Check back about Wesley's birthday party in separate post!

 big boy growing up fast!

last night as an 11 month old!

fabulous dinner position

cozy nighttime with Mommy

skilled at standing

 learning to game with Daddy

with Pappy on Thanksgiving

so much happiness and love

Wesley's first trick-or-treating

candy haul!

Thanksgiving feast!

Auntie home!

our family on Thanksgiving

Wesley [7 months]

We are officially closer to Wesley's first birthday than the day of his birth! It still feels like this little love just came home from the hospital, but he really isn't so little anymore. This munchkin is so tremendously adored!

Size: Wesley is wearing more 6 month size outfits, although there are still a few that are on the larger side and look a bit baggy. He seems to have a small trunk, as he also continues to wear many 3 month size onesies as well. Like Daddy, Wesley may also have short legs, which gave him the ability to squeeze into a few 0-3 size pajamas last month when we had a few chilly nights. As temperatures warmed up, I bought Wesley a new sun hat in a bigger size since the one he has is becoming tight. I also moved his cloth diapers to the next rise, which provides more room in the crotch. We had a few cases of major poop that the diapers had a hard time containing!

Health: According to our home scale, Wesley still weighs 18.8 pounds. He continues to have lots of boogers all the time, and clearing them out is a daily activity for us. Wesley's hair is long in the front and has grown into a point, perfect for handsomely sweeping it to the side in a fashionable way. Most of the dark body hair he had from birth is gone and has been replaced by light peach fuzz.

Feeding: We have not been bottle feeding since I'm now home for summer break, and not having to pump has been glorious! Wesley is nursing a bit less frequently and sometimes for shorter periods of time, as he has his moments of being more interested in playing than wanting milk. In bigger news, Wesley tried solids for the first time! Just as with Simon, we made the introduction with avocado via Baby Led Weaning. Wesley was so eager to put something new in his mouth, and he was quite the sight afterwards having made a huge mess and thoroughly enjoying himself while doing it. We've yet to make solids a regular part of Wesley's routine, as he struggles to sit appropriately upright in our high chair. I think this is due to the angle at which it reclines, which isn't adjustable. I think shopping around for a more straight-backed high chair might help him be more comfortable and safe. Along with solids, we've also introduced his Safe Sippy and are letting him drink small sips of water. Wesley figured it out pretty quickly and really likes the taste of something new.

Sleep: Baby Boy finally experienced his first whole night's sleep! I wish I could say the same for me, but I spent that night constantly waking and wondering why Wesley was still asleep. He's officially slept through the night twice and otherwise was consistently doing 6 hour stretches for a couple weeks. Since I've been off work, Wesley has napped less some days depending on what we're doing or where we are. I've been able to get him to nap in his swing a few times, which hadn't happened successfully for a while. There have also been days that my dad has been here and has napped with Wesley so I can either do some things around the house or hang out with Simon uninterrupted.

Milestones: As of the end of his 7th month, Wesley was close to but not quite yet crawling. He mastered scooting backwards on his tummy, army crawling forward, and getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. He sits up well independently, but still can topple over if playing with something and not focusing on his balance.

Likes: His big brother is probably Wesley's absolute favorite person. Whenever Simon is around, smiles immediately erupt from Wesley. Whether it's made up songs, silly faces, or a simple singsong hello, Simon manages to make Wesley laugh without fail every time they play together. Wesley is also always cheered up by Simon when fussy or impatiently waiting for whatever he needs from Mommy or Daddy. Baby still loves to jump in both his stationary and doorway jumpers. His little legs will mimic jumping if you hold him so he's standing on your lap. Jumping must be Wesley's favorite way to move!

Dislikes: We've tried and continued to fail with getting Wesley to like the bathtub. For some reason, being submerged in water is like torture for Wesley. It's all showers for us when Baby needs to get clean, which is actually easy and convenient, and the task is Daddy's way of giving me a break. Hopefully soon we'll be able to get the boys back into the bathtub again; I know Simon would absolutely love that!

Social: This social butterfly loves to engage in conversations. He'll either go back and forth with grunting an "ugh" response when you talk with him, or he'll make commentary after watching one of the music videos on YouTube my dad plays to calm him when he's fussy. This kid is also so happy when he wakes up in the morning and greets me with a huge grin. He's getting to sleep in with Mommy, which I'm guessing is his reason to smile.

Other Updates: On Memorial Day weekend Daddy went away for his annual nerd trip to KublaCon and left us for 3 nights. For our last night alone I packed up the boys and the dog for a slumber party at Auntie Eat's house with Baby Allison. We played with toys and hung out at the park, and all the kids were very well behaved. I started summer break the following weekend, and so far we've had lots of fun. Wesley came to two bridal showers with me, one for Kylee and the other for Maggie; we've barbecued with friends; we got to visit with Auntie when she came home from Texas for a friend's wedding; and we've played a whole bunch. We also celebrated Father's Day by having breakfast at home with Cho-Cho. Pappy and Uncle Ben came by for a visit, we relaxed in the afternoon (Daddy's request), and then Cho-Cho took us to Moe's for dinner. As summer continues, we've got a lot more fun up ahead!

growing boy!

Mommy's handsome

first solids!

best sleeping photo ever

sitting practice

Wesley's favorite person

fussy love

absolute best buddies

the boys with Allison

Kylee's bridal shower

Maggie's bridal shower

Father's Day

Auntie's visit

Wesley [5 months]

Time with this munchkin is just flying by! Eric, Simon, and I have so much love for this little boy. Wesley amazes us everyday with his happy spirit and adoration for our family. He is growing and learning like crazy, and I am so incredibly honored to be the mommy of another adorable and fantastic son.

Size: Mr. 5 Months now weighs 17.2 pounds according to our home scale. I pulled out our 3-6 month and 6 month size clothing in preparation for our warmer temperatures, although Wesley is still fitting comfortably in most of his 0-3 month and 3 month size clothing. It seemed like we were dressing him in the same few outfits over and over again, so it's been nice to have some variations in his wardrobe with the bigger sizes that fit. I noticed that Simon's hand-me-downs don't include many pairs of shorts, so we bought some new ones for Wesley in the 6 month size to get longer use out of them. Wesley is also still wearing the same waist adjustment and rise on his cloth diapers.

Health: Our poor baby battled his second cold during his fifth month, this one worse than the first. Wesley dealt with a few weeks of watery, goopy eyes and a runny nose. The congestion didn't seem as bad as before, but he definitely wasn't comfortable. On top of the cold and possibly related, he also struggled through the pain of his third and fourth teeth coming in (the upper lateral incisors, early again). Wesley's slobbering has been out of control, and he was unfortunately needing his face wiped constantly with all of the other leaking. On a happier note, he is still blue-eyed, blonde-haired, and looking more and more like his handsome daddy everyday!

Feeding: Wesley's heavy teething had him biting Mommy A LOT. This stage made nursing more stressful for me. Being so young with so many teeth, I felt like Wesley isn't old enough to understand "no" when I scold him and unlatch him at his first bite. I know he will come to learn and understand with time, but his biting was hurting so badly that I began ending the nursing session entirely after too many bites. I hate to upset him, but the pain was becoming more than I could bear, and I think that taking short breaks is better for both of us in order to reset and start over.

Sleep: With all the congestion and increased teething, Wesley began waking during the night as often as every 2 hours. It was so heartbreaking trying to console our poor boy, who was obviously uncomfortable and in lots of pain. Running the humidifier in our room at night seemed to help with the congestion, but frequent nursing was the only thing that would soothe Wesley's poor gums and help him get back to sleep. Eric and I were extra exhausted for a while, to say the least.

Milestones: This one is on his way to becoming mobile very soon. Wesley is starting to scoot backyards while on his tummy, now never staying in one place when we put him down. He's completed a 270 rotation and figured out how to push himself forward by kicking off of Daddy's arm. Wesley is so strong and loves to go from lying on his back to pulling himself into a standing position by grabbing onto our fingers and sitting himself up. We've started sitting him in the Bumbo chair so he can enjoy being upright and get some practice learning to sit up. Wesley understands the cause-and-effect relationship of peek-a-boo and happily squeals with delight when Mommy plays (Big Brother likes to join in the game, too). And finally, Baby Boy found his feet! The discovery is like a new entertainment factor, as he loves going to those toes when his curious fingers need something to do.

Likes: Love Bug is a fan of Mommy's singing. I first noticed the way Wesley stares at me when I sing "I Love You So Much" to Simon before bedtime. Wesley's gaze appears to be one of recognition, like he recognizes the song from having heard it in my belly every night I put Simon to bed while pregnant. It could totally all be in my head, but the way he looks at me is just so telling. Wesley also loves literally anything and everything his brother does. Simon is a super helper and loves to keep Wesley company when I need a hand, and he's always delighted to sing a song or do a dance to make Wesley laugh and smile. They already have their own little games and a true budding relationship.

Dislikes: Of course Wesley doesn't like being awake in the middle of the night; who does? With the constant waking and broken sleep patterns resulting from teething and congestion, Wesley is one very unhappy boy when he unintentionally disturbs his own slumber. It also seems as though I never pick the right time to take a shower, as every time I turn off the water I hear a wailing baby trying to be soothed by Daddy. It's as if my needing to bathe is Wesley's cue to want Mommy!

Social: It's probably the high pitch of my voice to which he is responding, but I like to think that Wesley understands that when Mommy says "cheese" when taking a picture, he knows it means to smile. We're starting to get some really great photos of Wesley looking so happy! He's also figured out how to make his lips vibrate and create all kinds of spitting and humming noises. His face is completely coated in slobber when he's done, but the length to which he will go on and on making these cute noises is truly hilarious. It seems that he's fascinated with his ability to master this new skill and is very entertained by practicing it.

Other Updates: I was so excited to go fully festive for Wesley's first Easter. Simon helped me pick out Easter baskets for Wesley (a traditional wicker one for the Easter Bunny to fill, and a fun character one for collecting eggs), we decorated the house, and I found coordinating outfits for the boys to wear. We visited the Easter Bunny at Bass Pro Shop and got a cute picture taken (and even ran into our friends Bailey and Marcy doing the same thing!), and we tie dyed Easter eggs at home with food coloring (hopefully Wesley will be able to help next year). Easter morning was spent going through the goodies left by the Easter Bunny and having breakfast with Cho-Cho, and in the afternoon we went up to Laura's parents' family home in Grass Valley for dinner with Pappy and hunting Easter eggs with Ben and Lucian (Simon took it upon himself to help gather Wesley's eggs for him). I look forward to continuing these family traditions with Wesley as he grows!

our big boy

poor baby's newest teeth

sitting in the Bumbo chair

we found our feet!

brother love

shower time

smiles for Mommy in the mirror

Wesley's first visit to the Easter Bunny

Easter morning

Easter at Laura's family home

 

Mommy's bunnies

Pappy & his sons and grandsons

Wesley [1 month]

I can't believe I'm already back with my first monthly baby post! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing these about Simon, let alone pregnant with and giving birth to Wesley. But alas, our sweet Number 2 is already one month old and growing right before our eyes. To keep with the theme of his pregnancy updates (as well as my sanity whilst raising not one, but TWO little boys), I am going to continue writing about Wesley in survey-style. His first four weeks sped by like nothing, but they were exciting and wonderful nonetheless. Let's get started with what we've been up to during Wesley's first month!

Size: As expected, Wesley was born fitting into newborn size clothing and diapers. It's been fun dressing him in some of the same outfits and pajamas that Simon wore and showing big brother his baby photos comparing the two of them. Wesley is still in the newborn size, but Daddy thinks that Baby is beginning to outgrow some of his jammies. Size 1 diapers will be in rotation this next month, and we will begin using cloth once all of our disposables are used up.

Health: According to our home scale this boy weighs a whopping 10.4 pounds! At our 2-week well baby visit he hadn't gotten any taller, but his head size had increased by half an inch. Wesley is quite a gassy, little thing and toots all the time. He grunts a lot when trying to toot or poo, which wakes Eric in the early morning hours. Baby Boy is trying to hold up his head and has very strong abdomen/trunk muscles. We have to keep two steady hands on him at all times, otherwise he'll try to fling his body forwards or backwards like a little baby ninja! Wesley is also starting to grab at things, mostly when he's impatiently waiting to eat. He's gotten a couple of good fistfuls of my hair.

Feeding: This kiddo is a champion eater. I was able to get him to latch within his first hour of life, and since then Wesley has never stopped. Our postpartum nurses complimented me on how easily nursing came for both of us, which was made successful partly because I'm a second-time mom, but mostly because I was determined to introduce breastfeeding immediately. It seems like I have to burp Wesley during feedings more often than I remember having to burp Simon, but again Wesley is very gassy. He sometimes has bouts of spit up that leave me soaked, and I'm not sure what it is that I eat that contributes to this since I haven't been consuming a whole lot of dairy (the usual culprit). It doesn't happen so much that I'm concerned, just curious. Either way, Wesley is nursing so well, and his weight definitely shows it!

Sleep: We've been co-sleeping since Day 1. I wasn't sure if it would come naturally again like it did with Simon, but I've been careful and comfortable. Wesley and I have done lots of skin-to-skin, and I closely monitor his breathing, which has been regular and normal. His gas grunts and early morning fussiness disturb and wake Eric, who it seems is an even lighter sleeper than before. Sleep also comes for Wesley while babywearing, which we started with our Tula carrier and infant insert. I also rented a ring sling carrier from my local babywearing group, and then purchased my own new wrap-converted ring sling to wear Wesley out and around the house. We also got the swing fully assembled and set up with batteries, so Wesley has started to nap there as well.

Milestones: Eric and I are trying to fit in tummy time for Wesley when we can; on his play mat, on our bed, on our chests. While flat on his tummy on our bed, Wesley figured out how to roll over onto his back! We moved him to his play mat where he did it again, but of course he became camera shy when I tried to get the event on video.

Likes: Wesley is always soothed by us patting him on his back. He likes to sit with/be held by his big brother, who is always so eager to be my helper and take care of Baby when we're home without Daddy or I just need an extra hand.

Dislikes: Little Bear is not a fan of being buckled into his car seat. He cries while being safely secured and swaddled but quickly calms down when we pick up his infant seat to leave. The car ride always puts him to sleep, thank goodness!

Social: We were lucky to have lots of delicious meals delivered to us during our first few weeks home with Wesley. All of our kind visitors got the opportunity to hold Wesley, and he was content with meeting so many new people. He will mostly tolerate being held by anyone who isn't Mommy or Daddy until hunger strikes. Simon always jumps at the chance to hug, kiss, and fawn over Wesley, who is seemingly comfortable with having an excited big brother in his face. Baby also doesn't seem to mind having a curious doggy in his face, either. Courage's introduction to Wesley has gone extremely well, and he's calmed down and gotten used to our new addition even faster than he did with Simon.

Other Updates: Sharing the holiday season with both of my boys was absolutely wonderful. Our family included Wesley in all of our Christmas traditions including the Auburn Festival of Lights Parade, seeing Santa, and looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve (we drove through the neighborhood this year instead of walking--it was very late and terribly cold). We were lucky to spend a lot of time with extended family during the holiday season, especially my Uncle Chris and Eric's Aunt Sam. My Uncle Chris visited from New Mexico in early December and got to meet Wesley and see Simon for his second time. Aunt Sam visited during Christmas with her friend, Chad, and was also excited to meet Wesley. We enjoyed our annual Christmas Eve dinner at Pappy's house and Christmas morning breakfast at our house. Simon was excited to help unwrap the few gifts we had for Wesley under the tree and in his new stocking. It was a magical holiday celebration with our new little one, and I cannot wait to experience everything the rest of the year has in store for us with Wesley.

Wesley's going home outfit

first full day at home

sleepy boy

first ride in the swing

in Mommy's new ring sling

under Big Brother's watch

sleepy smiles

brotherly love

Wesley's first time seeing Santa

Great Uncle Chris' visit

Great Aunt Sami's visit

our first Christmas as a family of four