{take me out to the ball game}

Cardinals Opening Day

Too bad momma had to work today, because B was all dressed up with no place to go. We are really excited for baseball season...

GO CARDS!

Sitting with Support

Playing at the Park

We wanted to enjoy one more day of our warm weather before the winter-like conditions set in again, so yesterday we headed out to Quail Ridge Park for a little while before daddy went to work.  It was way too windy, so it was a short visit. I'm glad we went, because today it is 34˚ with snow flurries.  I have to keep reminding myself that it's still March, and to be thankful for the days of gorgeous weather.

oops, lost a shoe

Family Zoo Trip

Monday (3/21) we took Brody to the zoo.  Cody worked a half-day, so we met up with him at work and then spent the afternoon at the zoo.  It was 80 degrees and sunny, quite a difference from our first trip.   It might have been a little too warm outside for the animals, because most of them were either asleep or weren't out at all. 

Daddy taking the stroller "off road".

Watching the fish

"How big is Brody"

Brody was people watching more than animal watching!

Of course Sophie had to come to the Zoo too!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We celebrated St. Patricks Day on Wednesday, since I had to work on Thursday.  We had Wendee, Jeremy and Caleb over (James and Lindsay had to cancel at the last minute).  

We took the boys on a walk in Brody’s Wagon Santa brought him for Christmas.  Uncle Jeremy took the “off road” over some gravel, grass and bumpy roads.  The boys had a great time.  Brody isn’t quite stable enough sitting up, and Caleb kept looking at him like “dude… quit acting like a baby and sit up with me”, then he proceeded to try to eat his feet.  It was pretty cute. 

Uncle Jeremy pulling the wagon

First Wagon Ride

Every time the wind blew, Brody’s hair stood up like a Mohawk.  Cody wants to cut it so bad, but I really want to wait until he is a year old for his first hair cut. 

 

For dinner, I made cornbeef & cabbage, with carrots and potatoes.  Recipe here if you want it.  For my first attempt, it turned out pretty well.  Wendee even went back for seconds, which lets me know it HAD to be good.

  Dessert on the other hand, was much more exciting.  I made Taste a Rainbow cupcakes, which turned out so pretty, and they tasted great too.  

Here is the picture from the recipe:

And here is my rendition:  I'm actually pretty impressed!

 No green beer was had in the Loveless Household, but there's always next year.  

Brody's First Parade

March 12, 2011

After the race we decided to stay downtown for the parade because the weather was so nice. We had parked our car at Union Station, so we walked back to the car to change clothes and for an "on the go" Brody feeding.  We had lunch at Union Station, and then walked through crowds of people to find a place where we could watch the parade. 

 Lesson learned. Put up chairs/blankets/shade tents prior to the race.  It was PACKED.  

We decided we might make a day of this in the future and come prepared with a pop up tent, chairs, coolers, food (and beer, as none was to be found within walking distance of where we finally stopped- Amazing, right?) and hopefully recruit some friends to hold down the fort tent, while we run the race, then enjoy the parade.  Here’s hoping the weather is this beautiful for years to come.  (or we will just haul down a fire pit too!)

Brody was obviously very impressed by the parade... 

evidenced by how he spent most of it:

Here are a few pictures of the parade:

Happy St. Patricks Day Everyone!

First Family Run

There is way too much to look at to bother with a silly camera

I really haven’t had much motivation to get back to running since Brody was born.  I have been doing lots of walking on the days that it is warm enough to take Brody to the park, but for some reason the idea of running (for fun) makes me ill.   I used to feel this way, before I “became a runner”, so I know that it will pass.  And it better, because my October 23^rd Marathon is rapidly approaching. 

I figured, what is a better way to throw myself back in, than to participate in an organized race, so Saturday morning we loaded up the stroller and drove downtown for the St. Patrick’s Day 5 mile Run.  I have participated in this race every year since I started running, with the exception of last year when I was just too pregnant lazy exhausted to do anything besides sit on the couch.  After I pinned on my number and laced up my shoes, I began to feel a little nervous excited. 

My intentions were to run as much as I could, and walk when I needed to.  Cody volunteered to push the jog stoller, so I could just run.  Man, that thing is heavy, especially when you add a 12 pound baby to a 35 pound stroller. 

We bundled Brody up, as it started out a little windy.  But, the sun came out and warmed everything up nicely.  We were able to run comfortably in short sleeve shirts.  

There were tons of people there, and we just took our time.  I was very happy with myself as I was able to run almost the entire race, with only a few minute walks along the way. 

Well, we did it.  Our official time was 1 hour, 4 minutes, 1 second.  Official Snail Pace. But I have to start somewhere, right?

That was fun Momma, can we do it again?!

{5 months}

Well, here we are.  Five whole months old.  I can hardly believe how quickly the months are flying by.  We have really been enjoying the warm up in the weather, and have been taking advantage of these warm, sunny days by going on walks and playing at the park.  

March 4, 2011

He is developing so quickly these days.  I'm afraid that if I blink, he will be going off to kindergarten.  We are working on sitting up (while being propped up), still working on that rolling thing too.  He has found that tummy time isn't too bad after all, so why bother rolling over.  His newest trick is pinching and scratching.  He likes the sound that his fingernails make on different surfaces, scratching the walls while on his changing table, the bedding in the crib, and momma while he is nursing.  

Speaking of nursing... we are now nursing every 2-2.5 hours, trying to get extra calories into our small fry.  It seems to be working for him, as I am starting to see a little bit of baby fat, however it is tiring momma out.  And I am starving all the time!  He is pretty efficient however, nursing only 5-7 minutes per side, instead of the 10-12 we had been doing.  We are still giving him Prevacid two times a day, but haven't seen much improvement in the spitting up.

We have adjusted his diapers up to the next size, hoping that will help where it rubs on his little thighs.  

Even though he isn't quite at that 17-22 pound range, it seems to be helping a little bit.  Because Brody's legs are so skinny, he was leaking out the sides, but we also changed the liners to the more absorbent ones, which has mostly solved this issues.  We are slathering him in hydrocortisone cream and vaseline 1-2 times a day, and are seeing a small improvement in his eczema too.  

Doesn't he look like he is up to no good?!

More pictures to come.  I promise.  

Brody's First Big Boy Cup

Last week (March 7th) we decided it was time to attempt a sippy cup.   

We choose the Advent 4 month Trainer cup, as it has an interchangeable nipple and sippy cup lid.  

We started with the nipple and he did pretty well with it. He was able to hold it and put it into his mouth (of course EVERYTHING goes into his mouth, so this wasn't surprising).  He wasn't nearly as interested in the sippy cup topper, which I'm guessing is because he had to work a little harder for his milk.  

More Weight Woes...

Last Wednesday we took Brody back to Dr. Agolia for his weight check.  He had been on Zantac three times a day, for two weeks, and we felt that his spitting up was getting worse.  In the three weeks since his 4 month check up, he only gained 4 ounces, putting his weight at 12 lbs, 14 oz.  Dr. Agolia changed his medicine to Prevacid, and suggested we see a GI specialist for some more advice.  

So, today we visited Dr. Nasir.  

Doesn't he look like such a big boy? 

Brody's weight at Dr. Nasir's office was 12 lbs, 15 oz.  So close to Wednesday's weight at Dr. Agolia's office.  I am sure it was just the difference in the scale not an actual gain.  They measured him at 26 inches, which means he grew another whole inch since 4 month checkup.  I think Brody is just going to be long and skinny. 

Brody and Dr. Nasir

Dr. Nasir said that his upper GI is pretty much normal, and we are just have a "Happy Spitter" on our hands.  We just need to figure out a way to keep the food he is eating from coming back up. 

Our plans are: 

1) Continue the Prevacid, with a few adjustments on the time that we give it.  

2) Increase bottle feeds from 5 ounces up to 6 ounces on the days I am at work (3 days/week).

3) Add 1.5 teaspoons of formula to each bottle (of expressed milk) to increase the calories (only on my work days).

4) Add an extra feeding during the day, on the days I am home since we are still exclusively nursing. 

5) Hold off on starting cereal and baby food until 6 months of age.

6) Go back to elimination of dairy from my diet (I really enjoyed those 3 days while they lasted), and also eliminate eggs and peanuts/peanut butter, as they are common causes of food allergies in infants.  

We follow up in one month, and I hope we see a drastic decrease in the frequency and volume of spit up.  Momma is tired of being puked on!!!!  

Momma and her "Happy Spitter"