The MANY faces of Brooks!

Here are some of the adorable faces I get to gaze at each day...

  

 

Including his very first smile:

 And some of the subsequent ones:

  

 

 

  

  

He is growing up so VERY fast!  Next week we have our 2 month appointment!  While I'm looking forward to seeing his weight, height, and percentiles- I am NOT looking forward to holding him down for shots :(

Does anyone else find it completely rediculous that they ask you to hold your child's arms down (therefore the child is gazing at you) as they inject a needle in his thigh?  Brooks was only 1 month old last time it broke my heart, his face turned bright red and he screamed bloody murder!  I can't imagine continuing this process as he gets older and begins to understand pain! 

Now as you all enjoyed the new pictures of Brooks, I have to share how obsessed my husband thinks I am.  Each night when he comes home from work and looks at the millions of pictures on my phone he is amazed that I could have taken so many... but Brooks claims my entire day :)  And I am going to take advantage of it while I can... I go back to work in 4 weeks!

A few more pictures just because:

My first birthday party!

Just reading a book :)



Sweet sleeping baby!



Trying out the bumbo!

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Baby Steps...

... seem like giant hops!  So many new things to report about my lil' man!  He is quickly approaching 6 weeks old and the last week has brought on so many new "baby steps."

- He is drinking 5 ounces of milk, which means we have graduated to big boy bottles!
- He slept 5 straight hours one night (we are working on doing it again, haha)!
- He has graduated to his crib (which was more difficult for mommy than Brooks)!
- He is making this sweet face which I'm sure will be turning into a gummy smile soon!
- He has started to follow a semi-schedule (meaning he is hungry every 3 hours, plays, and then sleeps)!
- At the risk of ginxing myself, I am pretty sure he has his days and nights straight now :)
- He is no longer wearing newborn clothes and diapers, crazy!
- And he is making eye contact and looking at things a lot better!

I am really enjoying the chance to be home with him everyday.  His sweet cuddles each morning start my day off right!  I am appreciating that I took 12 weeks off work because I could not imagine going back in a week!  Here are a few new pictures of the big guy:

Mom and I are just "monkeying" around!

My favorite sleeping position!

Good day sir :)

My first restaurant... dad took me to Hooters!

One month already :(

Everyone has always said, "they grow up so fast," but I wasn't prepared for my little newborn to be a month old already! 

It's amazing the changes I can already see in the little guy!  He spends a lot more time making eye contact and trying to focus on things. He is getting pretty big... but hasn't always been that way:

The last few weeks have had many ups and downs.  Brooks started out gaining weight on track and I was happy that breastfeeding was working out for us.  1 week later and his weight gain was beginning to slow.  This concerned us a little and the doctor encouraged me to feed him more often... meaning every 2 hours (knowing it takes an hour to feed him, that leaves me an hour at the most in between).  We returned to the doctor a week later and I had my fingers crossed that he had gained enough weight- at least back to his birth weight (7 pounds 13 ounces) or 8 pounds would be great.  Sadly, he had not gained a single ounce in the last week, even though his feeding had increased. 

As you can guess, I was pretty upset with the news.  I had a feeling he was not gaining weight because his cries were telling me that he was still hungry.  The days leading up to that appointment had left both of us in tears, me feeling upset because he was so unconsolable.  Therefore, I was neither surprised nor upset when the doctor asked me to begin supplementing with formula.

And... ta-da!  A brand new baby appeared.  Brooks immediately settled down, spent more time calm and sleeping, and lost that unconsolable cry.  It felt good to know that my mother's intuition was right and my little man needed more to fill his belly.  We returned to the doctor 5 days after beginning to add in formula and he had gained almost a whole pound!  He weighed in at 8 pounds 7.5 ounces!

Today we attended his 1 month check-up and here are his stats:
Weight: 9 pounds 9.5 ounces - 40th percentile
Height: 21 3/4 inches - 70th percentile
Head: 14 1/2 inches - 50th percentile

The doc and I are very happy with his growth!  Our 1 month photo shoot of Brooks was not his favorite time, but here are a few:

Although he's not very pleased in these pictures, he is still mommy and daddy's little angel:

He continues to make our hearts smile each and every day :)

Christmas with the Babe!

Christmas was at our house, considering Brooks was only 10 days old!  It was so special to have our new bundle of joy at home with us.  I knew God had given Tim and me the greatest gift for Christmas this year.  Being a fan of pinterest, Tim and I had chosen some holiday poses to use for our own photo shoot of Brooks.  They did not come out perfect, but it was fun!  We made FREE memories to take with us forever (although Brooks wasn't lovin' it).  Here's how a few turned out:

Here is Brooks with his cousin, Brody:

Our family on Christmas morning:

Brooks sporting his new winter suit to keep warm:

My best friends came to meet Brooks: