Bye Bye Infant Room

How can it be that our baby boy is now in the TODDLER room at school?!?!  I'm pretty sure I'm going to ask myself this question for the rest of my life (just change the toddler to elementary/high school/college).  It's baffling how quickly the time flies by. 
Monday morning Gordon and I dropped baby boy off in Room C instead of good ol' Room 6.  I was a little nervous about how he'd do with the change up but he did fabulous.  As soon as Gordon set him down he immediately made his way to the new toys and started pointing and saying "this" to everything.  Then his friend Britton showed up!  She ran right over to him and gave him a soft pat on the head.  :)  So sweet. 

I tried to take a few pictures before school but he was a bit distracted.  He wanted to color on the chalkboard himself. 

The bottom two pictures were taken after school.  As you can see, he was still a bit obsessed with moving/holding the chalkboard. 

His teacher said he did great on his first day.  He even slept on a mat during nap time.  We were a little worried about how this would go over since he's only slept in a crib.  Apparently, they move the kids to mats once they are walking....since William only walks sporadically they hadn't moved him yet.  It sure does make a momma feel better to know her baby is happy and adjusting well!

Here are a few of William's new school things!

 We bought some shorter spoons to send to school.  William loves to feed himself and the longer spoons make it much harder.  They are by Tommee Tippee (Explora spoons).  The name labels are from the same company we used last year, Name Bubbles.  The labels hold up so well and are super cute. 

William's lunch goes in this cute lunch bag.  In my Toddler Lunch post here I talk about the new lunch container we are using.  It fits perfectly into his lunch bag.  We are able to put an ice pack, his lunch container, sippy cup, yogurt and a bag of frozen BM into this one bag!  And that ladies and gentleman makes me happy.  :)  It's the little things.  :)  You can find these lunch bags at lots of places.  We got ours from The Monogram Shop (thanks Aunt Emily and Uncle Grant). 

We also send a nap mat with him.  It's a mat with a built in pillow and blanket and will be easy to clean at the end of each week.  I didn't take a picture but here's something similar that can also be found at The Monogram Shop.

If there are any mommas out there reading this....what label company have you found that works great for you?  I'm always looking for convenient things to send to daycare!

Happy long weekend everyone!

Guest Blogger for TCH ~ A Year Later ~

Here's the guest blog post that I recently wrote for TCH about life a year after the NICU!

Over the last several months my family and I have reached several milestones with our baby boy (who’s not such a baby anymore!). In April William turned one, on May 16th we celebrated his one year anniversary from being discharged from the NICU and June 10th was his due date/gestational birthday. It really is amazing how much he changed from April to June. The NICU team told us it would take him some time to “catch up” but you don’t know how true that is until you see it for yourself.

William has been in daycare since last September so it’s been pretty obvious that he’s smaller than the other kids. He was slow to start “talking” and at 16 months he’s still not walking. But, he’s healthy as ever and he’s met all his milestones in his own time. If you’re a parent, friend or grandparent of a NICU baby try to remember that. Every baby is unique, NICU babies even more so. Many of them have a few extra challenges ahead of them after they are born so you gotta give them break and practice patience. I can still remember sitting in the NICU praying that William would be able to drink just one 25 cc bottle that day. When I started feeling defeated I would remember my own momma telling me that patience is a virtue! That motto has held true over the last 16 months. When William was still waking up for a 2am feeding at 7 months old I reminded myself of this. When Gordon is worried about him being in the less than 1 percentile for weight I remind him that he’ll catch up and be A-OK

So, if you, your family or friends are going through a NICU stay remind them to be patient. :) Take advantage of the fabulous staff taking care of those precious babies. They are full of knowledge and can teach you so much. Ask lots of questions, get help when you need a break, try to connect with other NICU parents (they can relate to you better than anyone else) and remember that soon enough NICU will be a distant memory. There is light at the end of the tunnel. A patient’s mother recently reminded me that you can’t wish your days away. Yep, even the hard days when your baby is in the hospital. She helped me see that you have to embrace all the days, good and bad. In their own unique way they are very precious moments. It may not be what you envisioned but sometimes that’s okay.

I have a friend that is currently on bed rest and is filled with many of the same worries I was.  During those stressful times you wonder if you'd ever be able to consider another pregnancy because you are just so dang scared.  Unfortunately, some stories don't have as happy of an ending as my family's.  We really are blessed beyond measure.  I can't say that enough!  Life is a journey.  Good, bad, easy, hard, sad and happy.  My family and God help me through our ups and downs.  Here's another quote that I really love!  "Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad, but it's what's in the middle that counts. So when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will." -Hope Floats

Something To Live By

If you are familiar with my blog and/or me :) you know that I delivered our baby boy 2 months early due to my "funny shaped uterus".  Today is the day my uterus will either be fixed (meaning I have a septum) or we'll confirm that I have a bicornuate uterus that will just have to be left as is.  Either way, I know that God has a plan for me and my family.  Regardless, I'm still feeling a little anxious so I've been trying to live by these word!

Happy Friday everyone!!  Our little buddy has meet the teacher tonight and then hopefully this momma can get some R and R. 

End of School

As of yesterday afternoon, our little buddy is no longer in the infant room at daycare.  I can hardly believe our time with Ms. Melissa is over.  She has been such a blessing for our family.  Not only does William adore her but she has been so patient with him and taught him so much.  We couldn't have asked for a more loving caregiver.  I know his new teacher will be wonderful too but we are sad to say goodbye to room 6 and Ms. Melissa.
Gordon and I both dropped William off yesterday.  We stopped by Chick Fil A to get breakfast for his teacher and him!  As soon as William saw that mini chicken biscuit he picked it up and started chewing away.  TOO CUTE.  It's crazy to think that the first day we dropped William off (at 4 months old) he was only 10 lbs, he was just starting to smile and coo, he was still sleeping alot, and only drinking milk....now 12 months later he is feeding himself, talking up a storm and he knows that he loves Ms. Melissa and all his school friends.  Luckily, his school friends will all be in his new classroom and Ms. Melissa will be down the hall if we want to say hi (and he'll still get to see her when she babysits)! 
So, if you're preparing to send your little one to daycare, take comfort in the fact that there are great places out there.  Children can learn so much at daycare!  Not only do they build a stong immune system :) but they learn social skills and more.  We are happy, happy, happy with our decision to use daycare while we work.

• Walking like a big boy with his new shoes on!
• With mommy outside his school.
• I'd say his first experience with Chick-Fil-A was a success.

Summer Fun

We've had an extremely busy summer (more on that later) so I've been bad about doing my weekly Wonderful Wednesday post.  So, I thought I'd post a few pictures that we've taken over the past few months.  Between summer vacations, our Sunday music class, and just everyday life we have managed to squeeze in some fun activities between all the "house stuff" we've been dealing with.

 

Made a stop by the snowcone stand in our neighborhood!  They get crazy busy on the weekends so going on a random Wednesday is the way to go.  I may or may not have asked G to stand in that outrageous line when I was pregnant.  :)

 We've had a million lunches and dinners at Memorial Park.

 

A couple unforgettable play dates at the Houstonian with some of W's best buds. 

 



Who says life ends when you have a baby?  Having fun watching Daddy play at TopGolf.  We can hardly wait to sign William up for golf lessons. 

We've even had a few date nights.  The picture above was taken at the new wine bar in Midtown, 3rd Floor. 

We've tried out a few new yogurt places.  The terry cloth outfits William has on in the picture above and below are from BabyGap.  They are on sale now so check it out!  They have been perfect for post swimming.  They dry easy and are super comfy. 

We've gone swimming with the Wilsons (great way to make the kiddos tired!).

Gone on some bike rides while we were in Florida.  Are his flip flops not the cutest things ever?!?!  Here's a similar pair that are on sale now!  They have a strap on the back so they don't fall off....perfect for babies.

 

And, last but not least, we had some yummy banana cupcakes at Sprinkles in Highland Village during one of our many play dates!

 

Hope everyone is having a great summer too!  What do y'all do to keep your little ones entertained?  I know I'll need some ideas for next summer. 

 

Showering Perry

The last couple of weekends we've celebrated the upcoming arrival of baby Perry!  Gordon and I hosted a small couples shower at our house with some fajitas, margaritas and yummy sweet treats. 
Instead of the doing the typical pink I tried to coral!  To be honest, it's nearly impossible to match corals so we had a variety of pink/orange/coral. 

We had some yummy sugar cookies, strawberry cakeballs and chocolate cupcakes.  I made everything besides the cookies!
The cakeballs are pretty easy to make.  I just make a bake a cake, break up the cooked cake (I use hand blender), mix container of frosting with crumbs and refrigerate over night.  The next day I make the balls using a melon baller and put them in the freezer for 2 hours.  After that all you have to do is  dip them in either a chocolate or candy melts (chocolate is easiest to use).  I used the white candy melts this time and used Wilton peach coloring to make them coral/pink. 

 I love how the cookies turned out!  Monogram. Gray. Chevron. Precious!!

I made the banner with my Cricut and the white vases are beer bottles that I spray painted white a couple of years ago.  I've used them for several different parties...I just change out the ribbon that's around them!

I love getting to use all my Beatriz Ball stuff!  The tray on the right is actually a cheese platter....I just placed some left over coral paper over the marble.

I was happy with how the flowers turned out.  Just some orange roses with slices of orange and blueberries.  Instead of the normal food labels I cut out these circles, put Perry's monogram on them and just wrote in what was on the menu! Then, I just tied them onto different things in the kitchen. 

I found the gray chevron ribbon at Michael's (as well as the mason jar). 

Nursing friends...old and new!

 Here are a few pictures from Alison's shower out in Katy.

 

 

They had yummy fruit, pasta salad, vegetables/dip, small sandwiches and pink cakeballs from Starbucks.  I loved the umbrella theme! 

 



Cristin and Lindsey + baby boy

William and Parker

As you can see in the picture above William is in love with Parker.  He just laughs and smiles at her.  She is like a little momma and will be a fabulous big sister!  Hopefully she'll come over and help me with the little guy when we are neighbors.  :)

Packing Lunch for School

Yep, I'm officially a mom....not that I didn't feel like it before.....but packing William's lunch everyday sure does make me feel "mom like".  :) 
Although it's easier to pack a lunch than make all William's baby food from scratch (don't get me wrong....it was easy but started to take up more time as his appetite increased)...I do find myself wondering what to pack.  I'm sure eating the same thing everyday would be no fun!  So, I thought I'd do a little post on what I've found to be easy and nutritious at the same time. 
I started off sending little, individual, reusable containers for fruit etc.  As William started eating more and drinking less milk I was sending several containers everyday.  That meant we had to wash them several times throughout the week and I'm sure his teacher was getting sick of keeping up with everything.  :)  So, I found some fabulous new multi-section containers from EasyLunchBoxes.com!  We got four containers for $14.  They have been worth every penny!  They are easy to clean and fit lots of food.

We give William some cheerios and milk before heading to school....while he's there he has breakfast, 2 snacks and lunch.  We also keep some cheerios and puffs in his cubby at school for snacks. 

We send a Yo-Baby yogurt everyday for breakfast.  Chicken strips (cut up), mozzarella cheese, blueberries, strawberries, and goldfish.  The paper cupcake wrapper is great for keeping things separate.

Ham, Colby cheese stick, baby goldfish, banana (his favorite) and black beans.

Chicken, American cheese, pirate's booty (cut in half), green beans, banana, strawberries and blueberries.

Noodles with butter!

Garlic chicken from the deli, squash, cut up pieces of pear and kiwi, baby goldfish and cheese.

William is obsessed with bananas but likes any fruit.  For dinner he'll eat spaghetti or meat from whatever we are having so I usually send turkey or ham from the deli for lunch.  Once a week I make homemade chicken strips.  They make great leftovers for his lunch.  We buy the Horizon Organic Cheese and I alternate between the colby string cheese, mozzarella string cheese, and American slices.  He'd eat cheese all day if we let him!  I don't send avocado to school with him since it gets yucky so quick but it's something great for dinner time.  He really likes to feed himself....and I know that helps his teacher out so I also save stuff like sweet potato for dinner since it gets messy. 

I'm not a dietician or a toddler feeding expert but I do try to follow these toddler feeding guidelines that I've read about:

Fruits & Veggies        4 servings per day
Protein                        2 servings per day (meat, egg, beans)
Dairy                          16-24 ounces per day (cheese, milk, yogurt)
Grains                        4 servings per day (bread, cereal, rice)

A serving size for a toddler is about 1 tablespoon per year of age or (1/4 of an adult serving).  As of now we don't give William juice.  I'm sure we will in the future but for now he's happy with water and milk (and he eats plenty of fresh fruit that doesn't have any added sugar).  My motto is everything in moderation. 

As of now, this is the only sippy cup William will use.  The NUBY!!  He also likes the Pottery Barn sippy cup but this one is much more practical since we have to have several of them.  I've also heard great things about the Nuby cup with a straw. 
William's name labels are from Name Bubbles.  They have been fabulous!  We had them on all of his bottles and they held up wonderfully (scrubbing, boiling, washing in dishwasher).  They are a must have since everything has to be labeled at daycare.  Even if your little one isn't in daycare they probably go to a mother's day out, gym daycare, church nursery or some type of play group where there are multiple children around.  They are also great on pacifiers, clothes (washing machine safe), feeding utensils and any other products you put in your diaper bag (sunscreen/toys).  I just ordered a new batch of stickers for the new school year.  :)

Do you moms out there have any lunch suggestions?  I'm always looking for new ideas since baby boy is allergic to egg and we haven't tried peanuts yet!

TGIF

Well folks, I can not say enough how very glad I am that it's FRIDAY!!  This was a big week for me....it was my first week to not pump at work (I'm sure all my co-workers were secretly rejoicing) AND I worked overtime for the first time since being put on bed rest.  I had actually just worked an overtime shift with Texas Children's VAT (vascular access team) two days before being put on bed rest.  I knew I'd never want to once baby boy was born.  So, 17 months later I took the plunge.  I would normally not give up my day off with William to work but the timing was perfect since I'd gotten 8 days with him and G the week before (during our fabulous trip to Rosemary Beach!).  I'm proud to say I made it....more importantly we all survived.  My sweet husband was so much help this week.  I helped do some staff education so two out of the five days I worked this week were 12 hour shifts.  That meant Gordon was on daddy duty until 8pm!  This week definitely made me appreciate not working those long shifts anymore and my wonderful Wednesday off work.  :)

Momma's Boy

Yep, he's trouble.

Eating a yummy turkey burger!

I can hardly wait to play with this little guy over the next two days!  Tomorrow we are having friends over for a small "sprinkle" shower for baby Perry.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

15 months

I know I've said this before but this stage is so much fun too!  William just cracks us up.  He is so sweet and easy going.  He definitely keeps us running (more than ever before) but it's so fun.  He waves and says, "hi!" to everyone he comes into contact with.  Our home is full of lots of happy smiles!

15 months old

Weight- 17 lbs 15 ounces (up 14 ounces in 3 months) ~12% on preemie chart and 0% on regular
Height- 29.25 inches (up 1 inch in 3 months) ~48% on preemie and 1% on regular
Head Circumference- 19.99 inches (same) ~25% on preemie and 60% on regular

Eating- This is the biggest area of change!!!  About 4 weeks ago William finally started being more interested in what we were eating than his pureed food.  This has helped me out tremendously!  I still nurse William in the morning when he wakes up and before he goes to bed.  Before we leave for school he eats some cheerios and once he's at school he has yogurt and bananas for breakfast.  I send 10 ounces of bmilk to school.   So, he drinks that and water from his sippy cup.  I've been mixing a little bit of whole milk in with the bmilk and so far he's done fine.  We have so much frozen milk there really isn't any reason to do whole milk quite yet but I figured it's good to get him used to the different taste.  At school, they have a morning snack that's usually puffs and for lunch he eats lunch meat or chicken, a some noodles/ravioli and cheese.  For snack time he has fruit and either cheerios or baby gold fish.  Dinner time is pretty much whatever we are having.  He loves chicken, black beans (any beans really), sweet potatoes, avacado and he's obsessed with bananas and cheese.  It is so nice to put him in his highchair, cut up some food and watch him feed himself.  :)  He can even feed himself with a fork and spoon (with close supervision of course).   
Sleeping- This area has also gotten easier!  He still wakes up around 2am some nights (maybe every third night) but puts himself back to sleep without us having to go in his room.  He takes one nap a day from 1-3.  Our morning starts at 6:00am.  On the weekends he'll usually lay in bed with us and sleep until 7:00 or 7:30.     
Development- We were able to answer YES to all the developmental questions this check up!  Well, all but one....he still isn't really walking.  He will take steps on his own but not very often.  He does imitate things we do, point to things he wants, can stack 2-3 blocks, says 3+ words (hi, bye, this, mama, dada and ball every once in a while).  He loves climbing up the stairs.  You have to keep your eye on him at all times (and keep all bathroom doors shut....otherwise he goes straight for the toilet bowl)!  Separation anxiety has finally fizzled out (thank goodness).  He is a friendly, happy little guy.   
Clothing size- Size 3 diapers. His PJs are 9 months but most everything else is 12 month.   
Things mommy loves- Hearing him talk and talk and talk cracks me up.  He will point his finger and shake his hand and tell you everything about his day.  When he's really happy he'll lean his head toward you to give you what we call "a head bump".  It's his way of saying "I Love You!"  He smiles really big while he's doing it...which makes it even cuter.  Yes, I melt every single time. 
Things WJG loves- He really is obsessed with bananas.  As soon as he sees me getting one he says, "ohhhhhhhhh".  He loves turning the bath tub facet handles and opening up cabinets.  Tickling him under his chin will make him laugh for hours and he loves to be chased around the house.  He will crawl as fast as he can and keep looking back to see how close you are to getting him.  He just laughs and laughs.  Gordon thinks the two of us are pretty silly.  We can just look at each other at start cracking up.  We. Are. Happy!   
Things WJG doesn't like- When baby boy wants down to play he wants down to play!  Of course, he doesn't like to be told to not do something but that's life.  He's still terrified of the sing and play puppy!   
Funny Dad Moments-  I've mentioned before that G doesn't do well with yucky smelling things.  Well, W can make some yucky diapers these days and the response I get from G is this....."CODE RED, CODE RED, come quick!"  Yep, I'm doomed.   
First time- W went to Top Golf for the first time last month, to Lake Houston and rode a jet ski.  He also had his first popsicle at daycare during the 4th of July Party and got his first kiss from sweet Britton (caught on camera even!). 
From the Doctor-  William got two shots at his 15 months check up.  Besides the flu shot he won't have to get any more until he's 4!  YIPPEEE.  Dr. Freedmen said there was no reason we had to give William eggs right now.  We'll try again soon....in the parking lot of the EC.  HAHA.  William still doesn't have any teeth but both my dentist and Dr. Freedmen aren't concerned at this point.  Gordon and I were both late bloomers so he's just following in our footsteps. 

Life is good.  We are happy.  Time is flying by.  So, I take pictures, pictures and more pictures.  I want to remember EVERY. SINGLE. THING.  It's all so special.  He's changing so fast and when he's 17 I'll need to remember these sweet, innocent days!!  :)