Two Months with Owen

Well I am a full month behind with this update, but I took notes and pictures along the way, so I'm doing my best to go back and fill in!  Poor third kid...

We started his second month with Owen's Baptism, posted here.  It was nice to have the family together to celebrate his big day!

The following week was Easter, his first official big holiday.  We were busy running around to all of the family meals, but he did great!  Church was crazy, since it was super packed and we had all three kids, trying to soothe Owen and take Landry to the bathroom three hundred times!  But we survived!  I found Owen a little button up shirt to match Carter and Landry in the smallest size I could find, but it was still a little big on him...but they still looked super adorable in their Sunday best.

On Easter morning, right around five weeks old, Owen gave me his first real smile.  Throughout that week, he really worked on it and also started really interacting with some cooing.  I still think this is the most rewarding part of new parenthood!  

Two new cousins were born that week, both boys, so Owen is going to have so much fun at family gatherings as they all grow up together.  They are right around six weeks apart.  Hudson was born to Brent's first cousin, Eric and his wife Kim.  And Knox was born to my cousin (and good friend) Madison and her husband Patrick.  It was so wild to see and hold them and see just how different a newborn is from a six week old!  

That week, I scheduled Owen an appointment with his pediatrician because his crying was just getting ridiculous.  He had always been one to cry more than Carter or Landry ever did, but I thought it was just his personality for awhile.  But it got to the point where he was either sleeping, eating or crying if neither of those.  About 95% of his awake time was spent crying or me actively having to try to keep him from crying.  And since he was not a fan of the passy, that was a hard job to have.  I had actually gotten semi-used to being able to ignore the crying, but I didn't want to return to work and have to worry about someone else having to deal with it.  So I made the appointment, all the while figuring that they would just tell me that some babies cry more than others and that crying peaks at six weeks so it should get better soon.

However, his pediatrician told me that while it didn't seem to be colic (since it was not a certain time of the day), she thought it could be reflux and that we could try some medications to see if they would help him.  While I am not a fan of medicine and doctors for every little thing, I felt like we could at least give it a shot.  I certainly didn't want my baby suffering if it was something we could help with!  And thank goodness I did!  He was put on a twice daily dose of liquid Zantac, which tastes horrible, but I have been able to get it down him just before feedings.  What a difference it has made! I had a new baby in no time.  

His awake time was so much better.  And I think him being awake more during the day led to better, longer stretches of sleep for him at night.  We got up to an eight hour stretch, although that was definitely an atypical night. It was typically a five hour stretch followed by a four hour stretch, but he was great at going right back to sleep after the first feeding.  

His favorite things this month were bath time, being in his swing (finally!  I was beginning to think we should just put it up!), looking out the window while riding in the car, and laying flat on his back on the floor checking out the ceiling fan.

He still wasn't a fan of diaper changes, but was getting better about tolerating them.  And he sure could get hangry if you made him wait a minute for a meal!

Owen is 10 pounds 13 ounces and around 23 inches long although I think he stretched out a bit and maybe fudged a bit on that!  He is in 0-3 month and 3 month clothes and size one diapers.  

Owen's Baptism

We had Owen William baptized on March 25, 2018 when he was a day past one month old.  Carter was so very excited about his baptism, so he was extra loving towards him that day!

Our beloved priest, Fr. Darrell was able to be there for it yet again. He has now been there for our wedding, Brent's baptism and joining of the Catholic church, and all three kids baptisms!

 Since Owen has been such a crier compared to my other babies, I fully expected him to pitch a fit about the water over his head, but he did great with it!  He was just looking around checking everything out!  I think the fact that the water was heated up before hand helped out a lot.

 Owen's godparents are my sister, Raylee, and Brent's cousin, Layne.

 He was so interested in Father's face!! Love this picture.

 Proud godparents.

 So proud of my little family for taking so many good pictures!  This never seems to happen for us.

 With my mom and sisters, Claire and Raylee.

 With my dad, AKA Grandpa Fred.

 And with Brent's mom and dad.  His sisters were also there, but we just didn't get a picture.  I wish we had taken a picture of the whole group...there was quite a turnout for little guy!

And afterwards, we hosted a little breakfast at our house to celebrate. Thankfully, I just had to supply the place and the meat and everyone else brought everything else!  The breakfast came together so well. Our brother-in-law, Justin, stayed behind during the service to cook so many pounds of bacon and sausage for us so it would be hot and ready when we got back.  Without him, we could have never pulled it all together!  

One Month with Owen

I'm running behind on getting this all finished up, but I tried to take notes as I went so I could at least go back and fill in the details.  Here is all about Owen's first month:

The first week at home was pretty rough, as Owen got his days and nights mixed up and stayed awake pretty much nonstop from around 10:30PM to 3 or 4 AM two nights in a row.  I was exhausted to say the least, but thankfully my sister Claire came over the next night to help me out with him so I could get some much needed rest (only getting up to pump). 

Once we got past that crazy first week, Owen mostly nursed every two to three hours around the clock, but worked his way to up to a maximum five hour stretch at night.  Of course, that was just a few times, but it was much appreciated when it happened!

Night sleep was usually his best sleep, as he was such a light sleeper and every little sound would bother him during the day.  To be able to nap during the day, I would typically nurse him to sleep and then prop him up in the edge of the recliner where he could take a nice long nap, wake to nurse again, and then take another.  During the mornings and afternoons when his big brother and sister were home, he just couldn't settle well, so that was just the routine that seemed to work for him.  

It turns out that Owen is my child that cries the most.  Thankfully, he was not my first child as my anxiety after Carter was so high and I can't imagine what the crying would have done for that.  This time around, I have done really good at realizing I have done all I can do and have learned to be able to ignore the crying sometimes when it gets to that point.  Thankfully, in month two it seems we have found some answers to that problem (acid reflux!).  

Besides the one week, two week, and one month checkup with the pediatrician, a couple of visits to church, and several trips to drop off the big kids at the babysitter's house, we didn't get out much.  Which was good because he hated getting in the car seat unless it was moving!  But once the car was moving (during the daytime anyways) he loved looking out the window at all of the surroundings.  

Other things he liked in month one are laying flat on his back on the floor and looking around the room, especially checking out lights and fans and bath time once we got past the "sponge bath" stage.  I'm pretty sure he could spend hours in the bath if there was an endless supply of warm water.  His hatred of the "sponge bath" stage made me realize his top dislike is being cold (or probably rather not being warm!), which made him also hate diaper changes and anytime someone touched him with even the slightly bit cold hands.  He is the only child I have considered buying a wipe warmer for!  He also was not a fan of the swing during month one.

At his one month checkup, he was up to 9 pounds 2 ounces (almost two pounds up from birth weight!!!) and 21 1/4 inches long.  I am amazed at how fast he is growing...time slow down!!

Owen's Newborn Pictures

We had Owen's newborn pictures taken when he was 10 days old.  He was not the easiest subject to shoot, as he is not the soundest sleeper and the kid is always wanting to nurse.  He also was fighting a plugged tear duct and trying to shed a layer of skin, so it was interesting!  But, we were able to get some sweet ones thanks to J.Lee Photography.  

I wanted to start with sibling photos, but Landry Kate just would not have it.  She threw a fit and clung to me and just would not be a part of them.  So instead, I have some "brothers only" pictures!! Ahh..this girl...she will be the death of me!  Thankfully, Carter was all about it and we got some cute ones of them.

Owen Meets his Family/Hospital Stay

Our hospital stay with Owen went really well.  We used a smaller, local hospital this time and we were so pleased with how laid back things were and how well they managed all of the "interruptions" so they could at least all happen at once instead of right when you finally get to catch some sleep!  

I have been a totally different type of mom this time around.  I never once kept track of dirty/wet diapers or feeds on what side for how long, which is a vast difference from Carter, who I documented every last breath he took on those sheets and Landry who I believe I tracked on my phone.  Sometimes, for Owen, I have used a pony tail holder on my wrist to keep up with which side to nurse on next...obviously he is a true third child for me!! :)

We had a long night with his delivery and a marathon of nursing, but I was able to get up at some point during the night to use the bathroom on my own and have my bed changed out.  Brent slept right through it all. :)  

Thankfully, the next day was Sunday, so while our friends and family were at church, we had a little alone time with Owen and I had some time to freshen up and get ready for our big kids to meet their little brother!

Then it was time for some visitors.  Owen got to meet my dad and stepdad before he was taken off to be checked out by the pediatrician.

Thankfully, all was perfect with him!  He came back hungry as can be.

We had some family stop by.  Brent's cousin, Eric, and his family, and his grandparents.  I was getting so antsy for big brother and sister to arrive with Brent's parents, and finally, they did!  I thought Landry might be a bit shy, but she took right to little Owen in no time!  They were excited to check him out!

Here we are, our first family of five picture!  Owen was clearly very thrilled about it.

Carter was so excited to hold his baby brother.  He did so good!  We kept telling him how much Owen looked like him when he was a baby...he really is his twin!  My favorite thing was when Carter saw Owen's umbilical cord stump.  He asked about what the purpose was and we told him how it was connected to me inside.  Brent told Carter that he cut the cord when Owen was born and Carter, a true little country boy, asked if he cut it with his pocket knife!! Blegh...no son, I would never let your dad near me with that nasty thing!!  Carter also had lots of questions about how he got out of my belly, which we were able to mostly avoid for now.

Landry didn't have quite as much to say, but she did tell him "I love you baby Owen" just as she did a million times when he was in my belly.  

After the big kids headed off to have fun adventures with their grandparents, we had more visitors (my sisters and mom and some cousins) and we enjoyed our steak dinner provided by the hospital.  We settled down for the night and I was able to get some good rest thanks to a cousin that was my nurse for the night shift taking Owen for a bit to the nurse's desk between nursing sessions (she was also there during his birth, so it was perfect!).  

Monday morning, February 26th, we were ready to be discharged!  I got a shower and we waited around on the doctors/nurses to do the things that had to be done for us to go home.  My sister Claire came and hung out with us for a bit and Brent ran out to get us some yummy takeout for lunch.  

After Owen was circumcised and everything was determined to be good with that, we were set to go home!  I changed him into his going home outfit, Brent buckled him in his carseat, and we were off.  It was a gorgeous, sunshiny day.  

Owen did pretty good on the ride home.  It was a different experience this time as with both of the other kids, I sat in the back with them and watched them like a hawk.  However, with three carseats in the van, there wasn't really anywhere else to sit!  #thirdchildproblems :)  Owen seemed pretty happy to be home once we got there!