Oh it's 7PM, well that could only mean one thing....

It's bath time!

I have a feeling this will be the "oh Mom" look
I get when he is a teenager!  I think he is thinking
"dude, put the camera up, I'm naked!"

Tillman loves the bath!  He gets one about every night.  We asked the pediatrician if that was ok, and of course it is!  We just can't use soap every time!  Bath time is part of his nightly routine to get him ready for bed.

kicking in the water

"Mom, put the camera down!  I need to
get bathed before this water gets cold."

He keeps that fists clinched all the time. 
Boy, does it get smelly! 
The hands are the first thing washed, and
they do get soap everyday!
Those fist are lint traps! YUCK!



Keepin' Up With The Baby Jones'

My competitive side needs to tell you this picture
was taken after he had been in the seat for a while.
He can and does hold his head up straight.
PS Check out his fun "shoe" socks

I'll be the first to admit I am competitive.  I guess that come from being the baby of the family.  My older brother and sister always did things before I did, and I was always trying to keep up.  Personally, I feel that most "youngest child" folk tend to have a competitive nature. 

With that being said, I tend to closely watch other babies that are Tillman's age or ask parents of older children what their child was doing at 3 months.  I know that every child develops at different rates, but like everyone, I don't want Tillman to be last. 

So, the other day I saw that a child close to Tillman's age was in a Bumba Seat (we actually have the bebePOD).  As soon as I saw that picture, I said to myself "when I get home, he is going in that seat!"  He did well with it, and it really works him out.  He had to take so much energy to stay up right in the seat that he ended up wearing himself out!  He feel asleep slumped over after about 30 minutes in the seat. 

Tillman was sleeping when I took
this photo, but woke to the flash!

I have been putting him in it every chance I get! 

Although, my competitive side pushed me to put him in the seat (I actually was going to pull it out after Christmas), I am glad because he was ready for it!  He had already been lifting his head up to look around when in the bouncy seat and swing, so I knew his neck was getting close to handling sitting up!

Tillman's more concerned about the camera
towering over him than the fun toy!

If you are looking at the background in these photos, yes, he is in the bathroom!  He hangs out in his seat while I get a bath and then I bathe him right after I get out.  Maybe that is TMI, but hey, it's my blog and I can say what I want! :-)

3 Months Old (12.12.10)

12.12.10 - Tillman's 3 month birthday

On Sunday, Tillman turned 3 months old.  It is so hard to believe!  Looking at pictures, I can tell that Tillman has certainly grown a lot since he was born.  Nights have certainly gotten easier since he is in a routine. 

At 3 months, he has an established bed time of 8 PM.  Tillman usually gets a bath in the 7 o'clock hour and feeds.  Normally right after the feeding, he is ready to be swaddled and put in the moses basket (Thanks Emily for letting us borrow yours!).  Tillman will sleep his long stretch of the night, and that usually last until 2:30 AM.  When he wake, he is HUNGRY!  He feeds, we change him, and then put him right back to bed. 

3 month old Tillman drinks 4 ozs., and so far, he has only received breast milk.  We think Tillman is around 12 lbs; although, we have not weighed him since he went for his 2 month appointment.  At his last doctor's appointment, she said he could drink 5 ozs, but we feel he is satisfied with 4.  If we feed him more, he normally gets upset and shakes his head to get away from the bottle.

Smiling to crying in .2 seconds!

Tillman is still in 0-3 month clothing.  This size fits really well, and I think he'll be growing out of a few pieces very soon.  I have already started to pull things out of the drawers that don't fit anymore, mostly newborn size. 

Tillman hanging out on the bathroom
counter while mommy gets ready

We've certainly seen Tillman smile a lot over the past few months, especially when he wakes up (if you catch him before he starts whaling and screaming).  I think he will be a morning person!  He also is starting to make lots of cooing sounds and even does a "fake cough."  He seems so impressed with himself when he makes these noises too!  (I guess we get to look forward to when he knows he can scream without crying.)

Tillman happy after his bottle

I have to say that Tillman's #1 thing to do in the past few weeks is blow bubbles. These are hard to catch on camera, as they don't seem to show up in the photo. He'll get a lot of bubbles going, and his mouth and chin will be covered in drool. We've had to start using more burp cloths and bibs lately.

Bubble Machine-click on photo to really see the bubbles

Bubble Machine-can someone wipe his mouth?

 Tillman's daily routine for the past month and until Valentine's Day is going to work with Daddy!  Most days he is out the door by 6:30 AM.  This week especially, he's had to bundle up (burrr...27 degrees).  Tillman has his own lunch box filled with 3-4 bottles to get him through the day.  He doesn't have a Sunburst Landscaping uniform yet, but I am sure he'll have one soon!  Tillman has even had a few play dates with some of Nick's Seabrook clients.  Two ladies have wanted to keep Tillman for a few hours during the day.  Also, Nick's dad (PapPaw) also lives on Seabrook and has watch Tillman during the day when Nick has to go to meeting and things. 

Tillman packed and ready for work with Daddy

We're really glad it has worked out that Nick can watch Tillman through the winter.  It sure helps out in lots of ways--they get to spend lots of father son time together, no daycare expense, no daycare snotty nose yet, etc! 

Tillman eyeing his bottle right before
walking out the door...not the time to get hungry!



Silly for a Wednesday

Thanks Julie for the "silly little something" you got Tillman!

For those of you who know us personally, this bib is funny! 

PS Tillman frequents Hollywood!

Size 1 is how big?

Nick was making fun of me on Saturday for playing "dress up" with Tillman.  I am sure glad we did because a size 1 IS NOT 3 months!  You may remember I went to a sale while pregnant and did a blog post about "T-bro's closet."  I purchased a few outfits for Tillman, and this was one of them.  I thought this was going to be his Christmas outfit, but I guess we'll have to use it next year!

Even Tillman was unsure about the outfit!  He was on the verge of tears in this photo.  The look on his face is "Mom, you are nuts if you think this fits!" 

To all the seasoned moms out there, what is a size 1?  12mos?

Mommy Necklace Take Two

November 10th was our 3rd anniversary, and Nick got me a few new additions to my mommy necklace!  He added "November colored" beads to represent our anniversary and his birthday!  Nick just celebrated his birthday on Black Friday (what a lucky guy!).



Happy Thanksgiving From My Bouncey Seat!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Tillman had his Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday night.  He took 5 ozs at his night feeding!  We were very impressed, but it didn't keep him from waking through the night! 

Did I mention he loves his swing? (Wordless Wednesday)

Bed Time Routine

Since I have gone back to work, I have been trying to establish a bedtime routine for Tillman.  This is all in hopes that he will begin to understand it is time for his long sleep of the day (7 hours...please). 

Our bedtime routine so far includes, getting a bath, changing the lighting in his sleep area, swaddling, feeding and putting him down to sleep.  We start the routine around 7PM, and by 9PM, I hope I'm in bed.

These pictures were taken right after getting out of his bath.  He LOVES the bath.  The warmer the water the better.  The only time he gets fussy is when the water cools down.  It took me a while to figure out what was going on with him when he got fussy in the bath, but it is clear we need a bigger hot water tank in the future.  Tillman and I will be fighting over the hot water in a few years!



2 Month Check Up

Tillman had his two month appointment on November 16th.  This was his first time back at the doctor since we had to take him for weight checks a week after he was born (glad those stressful times are behind us).  At two months, they start passing out the shots!  Nick and I have gone back and forth on the vaccines and schedule.  Nick and I both did research, as our opinions were on opposite ends of the spectrum.  We opted for a compromise and chose to spread out the shots, but for Tillman to receive all vaccines. 

Tillman goes back in two weeks to get his two shots he skipped last Tuesday.  I am glad he only got two because he had a fever and all with just two.  I don't want to think how he would have been with four shots. 

Our poor little guy after shot one.

He had the same reaction to shot two...I would too!

Also at this appointment they get all of his stats too!

At Two Months, Tillman is

-22 inches long (13th percentile)

-10 lbs 13 ozs (22nd percentile)

-Temp reading 98

-Head size 14 1/2 inches (3rd percentile)

He takes around 3.5-4 oz at a feeding. The doctor said he could take more…like 5 oz, but we think he is content with less. So far, he has only received breast milk (Nick calls it "momma milk")! No formula!!! He has come a long way from leaving the hospital at 5 lbs 9oz. He is still on the small side, but I think he is just going to be small. He has been below the 50th percentile with height and weight since his first ultrasound.  I don’t feel he is small because he isn’t getting enough to eat.

At two month, Tillman loves his swing, taking baths, taking walks in the BabyBjorn, going to work with daddy and is "cooing" and smiling a lot (oh and loves watching ceiling fans and clocks)!  He still takes 2-3 hour naps during the day, and will sleep up to 7 hours at night (in his swing).  The doctor said we need to work on transitioning him to a still sleep setting, so we've been working on that.  Of course, he doesn't sleep as well, but only wake one time during the night. 

Nick and I at two months of being parents have also grown a lot too!  We've adjusted our own bedtimes (9PM for me), and take shifts during the night (I wake to pump and Nick cares for Tillman if I'm not already up).  We've learned that team work in the morning gets us all out the door on time.  Also we've learned that what works for Tillman is good for us, so we adjust to meet his happy point (road trips start at 6AM, only go out to eat when Tillman has a full tummy, we tote his swing everywhere, etc). 

Parenting has been very rewarding for us.  It has taught me a lot about my priorities in life.    Life is no longer at work; it is at home with family.  At work it has taught me to be extra efficient, get things done during work hours, and to not allow work to flow over to family time.  Often when I leave in the morning, Tillman is asleep, and when I return, he is asleep.  I miss not seeing him during the day, but the precious time at night we spend together is something I'm not willing to give up!

First Road Trip on Tillman's 2 month "Birthday"

Tillman at Danielle's rehearsal dinner with Brian, friend from grad school

On Tillman's two month "birthday" (11/12/10), we took a 9 hour drive to Virginia for a wedding.  As many of you read while I was pregnant, we were invited to my friend, Danielle's, wedding (remember this post and this one too?).  We have been anticipating the trip for awhile, and we were so glad we got to go.  Everything worked out great!

Last Friday, we left the house at 5:45AM to hit the road.  Tillman does wonderful in the morning, so we know the sooner we got on the road the better.  Our first stop was South of the Border.  Nick was so curious about the place, so we decided to make that our 9AM stop.  This place is a DUMP, but it had gas (before hitting the price hike of NC), bathroom (yuck...flies...nasty), and a parking lot (full of creepy people), so we could get out and feed Tillman. 

Tillman for the most part during the drive slept, which was probably best for everyone.  We made it to our destination (YaYa Katy's house) at 3:15PM.  It was pretty good timing!

Tillman in Nick's lap at the rehearsal.

He was supposed to wear this outfit home from the hospital...totally too big! :-)

My mom is part of a group we call the "YaYa's."  This group is made up of 4 girlfriends she has had since childhood.  One of the YaYa's, Katy, lived 5 minutes from where Danielle got married.  We put "two and two together" over the summer when my mom was visiting Katy with the other YaYa's.  (As you read in the first post about the wedding, we didn't know how we were going to go to the wedding with Tillman and find a babysitter.)  YaYa Katy and husband Gene babysat Tillman while they watch the Carolina Gamecocks beat the Florida Gators.   

Sleepy T right before dinner started

Tillman got a good report card from his sub-grandparents for the weekend!  Besides him drinking down all the milk we had for him in the frig, he was a good boy while we were at the wedding!  He was eating every two hours while we were gone!  Tillman must have been growing.  Katy and Gene also got to witness Tillman's love for his swing.  Yes, people we travel with it!  Nick had no issue with dismantling it at 5AM to take it with us on the trip.  We know that Tillman would have major separation anxiety (= crying, not sleeping, mommy and daddy needing to drink heavily to cope with Tillman, etc) without it!  Like I have said before, we can't live without the swing!

On Saturday, we ventured out to meet up with one of Nick's childhood friends, Brad, who lives in DC.  We went to Clyde's in Reston.  Tillman wore this cute number to lunch!

I know it probably appears that my child has a pig nose,

but I really need to work on the angle that I take photos...I swear he doesn't.

We ventured back to Charleston on Sunday around 9:30AM.  The road trip back was HARD.  Tillman was more cranky, so we had to stop more (we found the key is getting on the road as early as possible).  We ended up getting back to Charleston around 8:00PM.  This road trip was good practice for the holidays.  We have another road trip to Ohio planned, and that one is a few hours longer. I am sure "T man" will do just fine on that one too!

Tillman slept great on Sunday night.  I think he was just as worn out from the trip as were we.  He probably wore us all out with his hysteric crying from I-95 to home! (no, he wasn't hungry, just doesn't like the dark!)

Baptism - October 24, 2010

Tillman was baptized at my home church in Lexington, SC on October 24th. 

Tillman and my sister's son, Lance, were baptized together, so that made it extra special.  Nick and I have struggled with finding a church in Charleston, but when we visit St. Peter's, it certainly feels like home!

Tillman did well during the service, and only "bellowed out" for 5 minutes during the actual Baptism.  We laughed and said that was the devil coming out of him!  Pastor Rawl who married us and confirmed me did Tillman's Baptism.  It was special to have him share in another special event in our lives!

Nick mom, Mimi, drove from Ohio for the special day, and Nick's dad, Pap Paw, drove from Charleston.

My parents, Cici and Jrs, hosted lunch for everyone at their house.  We had a nice spread!  This was great to visit with family, as it was the first time all my extended family had met Tillman!

After the service, a family friend, Mr. James, did family photos of the day.  Below are a sampling of the pictures. 

First family picture with the new additions! 

Three Generation