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