Aiden - 17 Weeks

So although this is your 17 week update and photo, you turn 4 months on Monday so this will also serve as your 4 month update :-) here we go!!

Likes:
Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, laying on your tummy, your crib, car rides, laying on mommy, your white noise machine, sleeping, your rings on your carseat, grabbing for anything and everything (to include mommy's hair), laughing at daddy (he gets so many laughs... I get jealous of this sometimes but then I realize that I get the awesome hugs!), OH, hugging mommy ;-)

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, waking up in the morning, going to sleep (but love it once you get there... lol)

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
You are still in 0-3 but I don't think it will last much longer. Your pants are fitting great but your shirts are getting a tad snug... no where near having to move up right now since the 3-6 mo stuff is still big.

I love you so much Monkey and couldn't imagine life without you!

So this is what happens when daddy turns his head to mess with his camera...

You eat the material! lol...

Photo Bomb

Working makes it really difficult to post Aiden's pics in a timely fashion... or post at all apparently :-/ Sooooooo, that means you get photo-bombed! :-) Yay for you, right? lol. So here's week 14-16. I'll have to post week 17 in a different post since that involves his 4 month update as well...

**The fabric is in honor of Thanksgiving**

He sure does love bath time!

Although lately he's been kinda iffy...

Gingerbread men for Christmas time :-)

Aiden - 11-13 weeks

*this was written at 13 weeks, was just waiting for a second to edit the photos... so please ignore the present talk tense... it was actually a week ago*

ok, ok... I know I've missed a few weeks of updates but I didn't think there was enough to talk about from week to week. I'm sure there was but eh... :-)

He sure is growing like a weed! He won't go in for another check-up until 4 months so I can't tell you what his height and weight are exactly but I tried at about 13 weeks and he weighed about 13 pounds and was about 24 inches long.

Now onto the BIG news! On Veteran's Day (11-11-11) Aiden decided he was ready to roll over (belly to back)! I was so proud... exactly 12 weeks! He's rolled over in the past (since a few days after birth even!) but this was the first time it was intentional.

As I write this I'm watching Chris and Aiden carry on a conversation. It's absolutely hilarious! These are definitely the moments I'm going to miss as he gets bigger...

He also turned 3 months this week (Saturday)! So here's the rundown...

Likes:
These are still pretty similar to last month... Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, your rock n play, your tummy time machine, snuggles with mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, sleeping (and mommy misses you when you sleep from CDC pick up until morning), your hands (especially eating them!), to talk and sing with your mommy and daddy, dancing, laughing

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, your crib (although I think we're going to try to change this soon), waking up in the morning

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
You are still in 0-3 right now. They all fit wonderfully so we'll see how long they last. Maybe you'll be in 3-6 by Christmas... but I'm not too sure. You're still in size 1 diapers as well.

Ok, now onto the fun stuff.... pictures!!

**The fabric is in honor of Veteran's Day**

On the 16th Aiden's class had a military appreciation day... All the babies were told to ask their parents to decorate a white onesie for them to wear that afternoon (Aiden was the only one who followed those directions!)

Next up? Thanksgiving! :-)

Halloween 2011

9 Years ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful little boy. I was diagnosed with Pre-eclamsia and had to be induced the day after the results came back. He was born at 3:32 on Halloween and weighed in at 6lb 12oz and 21 inches long. 9 years later he's only 6 inches shorter than his mommy... haha. I couldn't be more proud of him. He's sweet, considerate and oh so smart. Straight A's and in the Gifted and Talented program at school! I love him so much and wish I could see him more often. Thankfully I'll see him in a few weeks when we head to Arkansas for Thanksgiving (30 family members in one place??? OH MY!) haha.
This photo was taken last summer while we were in Indiana. I can't seem to find any from Christmas last year :-/ Thankfully, I'm sure we'll have some from Thanksgiving and Christmas soon! :-D

Here's some pics of Aiden too. This wasn't his actual costume, it's just a sleeper we had... his actual costume was being washed since he wore it to a Halloween party on Friday and got it dirty... silly babies... haha
He makes an absolutely adorable skeleton baby... :-)
Happy Halloween everyone!

Aiden - 10 Weeks

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*Sidenote: this image was actually used as part of a wedding gift for Chris' brother and Sister in law... We never heard if they liked it or not though :-(*

Anyway, on to Aiden for the week :-) He turned 10 weeks today! This week was much better for me. I'm still not too fond of the fact that he sleeps most evenings so we don't get to spend time with him but either he'll adjust to sleeping at daycare or we'll just have to wait till the weekends... lol. At least we get to stare at him! He hasn't been eating in the mornings when I get him up to get ready. 20 minutes to eat an ounce and a half? :-/ I don't think he's awake enough to eat yet but I'm not sure how to fix that except wake him up earlier and I don't really want to do that since it's already so early. Guess we'll figure it out soon! Happy November everyone!

As I'm sitting here finishing the edits Chris is telling jokes making Aiden laugh up a storm... lol. It's absolutely hilarious! I love watching him laugh and coo...

Another week for 2 photos! :-D

How cute is he??

**The fabric this week is in honor of Halloween and Logan's 9th Birthday (which is Halloween)!!**

Aiden - 9 Weeks

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Aiden turned 9 weeks this week (yes, I realize that this is late. There's explanations below). It was definitely a rough week as it brought upon my first week back so work... *tear* Monday was definitely tough... it brought MANY teary moments, but no tears. As the week went on it got easier. It's still rough to leave him in the morning but I know he's being taken care of. He has some wonderful teachers in his class that are learning how he is (which is what i was originally worried about). He's eating well while he's at daycare but he's not sleeping as he usually does... :-( 15 minutes here, 10 minutes there but definitely not like he does here (usually a few hours in the afternoon). The good/bad part of this is how he sleeps at night. Most nights I pick him up, head home and he falls asleep in the car. We wake him up after we eat and he barely wakes up to eat and then he's back out for the night. I'm sure this is because he's not sleeping at daycare but it's so sad that we don't get to spend time with him in the evenings.

He also turned 2 months this week! So here's the rundown...

Likes:
These are still pretty similar to last month... Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, laying on your tummy, your rock n play, car rides, laying on mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, sleeping (and mommy misses you!)

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, your crib, waking up in the morning

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
You are definitely in 0-3 now. Your pants are still a little big on you but overall your clothes fit great... they still have room for you to grow so I think you'll be in them for a while. You've also moved up to 1's in diapers.

You're an absolutely wonderful baby and we are so blessed!

Hi ho, Hi ho, it's back to work I go...

The day has arrived... I have to return to work. That's right, my 8 weeks off is up... :-(

Aiden will be going to daycare at the CDC (child development center) on base. It's not too far from my work if anything happens and I can technically go see him on my lunch break. I'll be pumping while I'm at work so we'll see how that goes as well...

I pray that it's a smooth transition for Aiden into daycare and that things go well at work as well. I sure hope it's not too busy of a week... I'm not sure I can handle that.

I really don't want to leave this little guy... but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Aiden - 8 weeks

8 Weeks!

These 8 weeks have gone by WAY too fast :-( Come Monday, I'll be returning to work and Aiden will be making his first trip to daycare. I've heard lots of moms say (or insinuate) that you're not a good mother if you're not at home with your child all the time. That's just not an option for us. I firmly believe if you can stay home, great... but there's no need to make working parents (moms) feel less adequate because they can't. Even though I could technically get out of the military soon I refuse to put all the stress of working on Chris! He's already working full time, attending school full time and doing photography. There's no need to add any more stress, work, etc to his place and I REFUSE to put any more on him (to include ever asking him to get a second job so I can stay home). I love him far too much for that! OK, onto the Monkey this week :-)

He had his 8 week check-up this week and things went wonderfully! Remember how much trouble we had with him getting back up to birth weight? Not the issue any more! At 4 weekshe weighed 8 lb 5.5 oz. 5 weeks brought him up to 9 lb 5 oz (a whole pound in a week!). 3 weeks later? 11 lb 5 oz! He's up 2 pounds in 3 weeks... he still looks so small to me, it's just unreal. The doctor measured him at about 23.5 inches. We're still not sure how accurate this is since it seems to change all the time.

8 weeks brought the horrible experience of his first shots as well... boo! My poor baby screamed so hard he turned purple. :-( He's been running a low grade fever and has been very cranky since his shots but we're hoping that that ends soon (it's so unlike him to cry so often). *Update: this actually seems to have subsided today!*

On the upside; he's started smiling more and cooing in response to mommy and daddy! It's absolutely amazing and such a blessing to watch him develop and grow!

*Not a fan of the white onesie on white material... probably won't happen again*

Aiden - 7 weeks

7 weeks!

Another week that's gone by way too quickly! Only one week to go until I return to work. *sigh*

Have I mentioned what a wonderful sleeper our little guy is? It's truly amazing to me! 8 hours a night; no matter what time we put him to bed. Last night he actually slept for almost 9 hours! I sure do hope this continues next week when I go back to work. (I've heard that sometimes sleep schedules change when babies are introduced to daycare... boo).

We spent some time apple picking and at the pumpkin patch this weekend with some wonderful friends... Oh so much fun. Pics of that will be up soon!

We couldn't decide on a picture this week so ya'll get see two!




**The fabric this week is in honor of Columbus Day. Yay for a three-day weekend for hubby! :-)**

Note to self...

When Carter's brand says 3 months it really means 0-3. Thanks for completely messing with my early clothes shopping for my little monkey... looks like I don't have as much 3-6 clothes as I thought I did. *sigh*

Aiden - 6 weeks

6 weeks!

A friend of mine does weekly updates on her beautiful baby girl. In her updates she puts likes and dislikes. I thought this was a fabulous idea so I'm going to incorporate it into Aiden's updates as well :-) Since I didn't do it or 4 weeks I figure I'll post it this week and pick up from here! Soooo... here we go!

Likes:
Snuggles, being warm, mommy, daddy, eating, laying on your tummy, your rock n play, car rides, laying on mommy, the sound of the vacuum cleaner

Dislikes:
Being cold, diaper changes, burping (seriously... must you scream every time we try to burp you?), your crib, being sleepy (you fight it to no end!)

Nicknames:
Baby, Monkey, Monkey-face, Monkey-bug (family nickname)

Current size:
Who actually knows... lol. Most of the NB clothes are too small for you (they're just tight... MOST you can still actually wear just fine) but the 0-3 are absolutely HUGE! I fear that you'll have the same problem your brother did as far as clothes goes. His pants NEVER fit :-/ So any outfit that we bought that was a shirt and pants the shirt would fit but the pants wouldn't fit for months... I see this happening again.

He's had a few rough nights the last few nights... I think he's having some tummy issues :-( Poor little guy... Prayers it gets better!

I truly love this little guy more and more every day... I could sit and stare at him for hours, days on end... *sigh*

Aiden - 5 weeks

5 weeks! So for those that have been following; you know that as of last week Aiden still wasn't up to birth weight. Last Thursday he was 8lb 5.5oz. The doctor wanted us to start supplementing with formula in order to try to get his weight up (and to ensure it was just a skim milk issue vice a liver or stomach issue). He went back yesterday for another weight check.; the doctor wanted him to gain 1oz a day (that would've brought him up to 8lb 12oz in a week). Apparently I have an over-achiever on my hands... my little guy went in today and showed that doctor who's boss. Little Guy weighed in at 9lb 5.5oz today... he's gained a whole pound in a week!! That's 2oz a day vice the 1 that the doctor wanted. Way to go Monkey! :-)

We moved Aiden into his own room last weekend as well. He's not in his crib yet but he is sleeping wonderfully in his room, in his Rock n Play. Most of this week he's slept from about 2130-0430! This varies from day to day (Wednesday he slept from 2230-0600). A friend of mine thinks we're blessed with a good sleeper because Logan wasn't so fantastic when he was little. Don't get me wrong; Logan was a great baby but he was definitely more fussy and slept less than Aiden does. Whatever the reason, we are truly blessed by having such a great baby.



**The fabric for this week is in honor of the first day of Fall! Happy Fall everyone! :-) **

Footprints Through Time - Part 1

What does this


plus this


equal? Why a new art project of course! :-)

Chris and I were looking for a interesting way to document our little one's foot prints. He decided that the neatest thing to do would be to document them throughout his entire first year of life. So, for every month we will take a ink print of his feet and place it on this canvas. It will be interesting to see how much our little one grows in his first year...




Aren't little baby feet the cutest?? Happy Monday everyone!

Post Baby Workouts

4 weeks postpartum and I am DYING to start working out and to get myself back! I hopped on the elliptical the other day for 15 minutes; 5 slow, 5 more vigorous, and 5 as a cool down. I thought I would be just fine but where I had stitches is feeling really sore :-(

Perhaps I'll try a little slower for the next two weeks instead of trying to just jumping back into things. Especially since I'm not technically 'cleared' to work out yet. I have 4 weeks left until I return to work and 2 weeks left until my 6 week check up. I'll have to make a trip to the uniform shop at my 6 week check up if my pre-baby uniforms don't fit... I sure am hoping it doesn't come to this! Wish me luck!!

Chris bought me Zumba and Biggest Loser for Kinect today! Has anyone used them? I cannot WAIT to try them out!

Anyone else have any ideas for getting back into shape after baby?

Aiden - 4 weeks

OH MY!! My Monkey is already 4 weeks old!! This means I only have 4 weeks left until I return to work... I sure hope the next 4 weeks go by a little slower then the past 4... :-(

He had his 4 week check up on Thursday. He's still not up to birth weight (8lb 9oz) but had gained 5oz this past week bringing him up to 8lb 5.5oz... I was THRILLED with his progress!! Apparently the doc did not share my sentiment :-( He's in the 35% for weight and 89% for height... Doc basically thinks that I'm producing skim milk instead of whole milk (she doesn't think my milk has enough calories for him). Soooo... she decided that I need to feed him the 3oz of milk that we've been giving him (he JUST started asking for more than 2oz at a time Wednesday) and THEN offer him up to 2oz of formula. She wanted us to try while we were there since he had just eaten. I was extremely skeptical that he would take any of it since he just started wanting more than the 2oz but he literally took the 3oz of milk and the ENTIRE 2oz of formula with no issues!! He's been eating like a champ the last few days but not looking forward to the added expense of formula (although I assumed it would come to that at some point). He'll see what the doc has to say about his weight gain this coming Thursday.

We made a trip to base Friday and surprisingly it was the easiest dealing with the Navy I've had in quite a while! I added Aiden to DEERS, put him on my page 2, added him to Tricare AND talked to CDC about his spot. They didn't think there would be an issue with him getting a spot by the time I head back to work (Oct 17th) but couldn't guarantee anything. We'll see how it goes :-) We also made a trip to work! Surprisingly he needed to have an 'escort required' badge in order to get into the building... I found this OVERLY humorous. I'm not sure I'd be worried about a 4 week old running rampant around the building or telling insider secrets... haha. But everyone loved him and thought he was just adorable!

Here's to a great week!! :-)

Aiden - 3 weeks

**Posted just a tad late but better late then never!**

Monkey turns 3 weeks today. On Wednesday he had his 2 week follow-up (yes, at 2 1/2 weeks...). Doc weighed him in at 8lbs .5oz. Still WAY under his birth weight of 8lb 9oz but doc said not to worry. With the fact that he lost so much right after birth (1.1 lbs or 12% of his weight) it's reasonable for him to still be under his birth weight. He did say that he was gaining enough per day (about 20 grams) to be considered just fine and perfectly healthy! He also measured him at 21.75 inches. This part is humorous to me. When he was born he measured 22 inches, 5 days after he was born they measured him at 20.5 inches, Wednesday they said 21.75 inches. Who knows how long my baby boy ACTUALLY is... haha.

He's not particularly a fan of tummy time. This usually ends up with TONS of screaming or he turns it into nap time... haha. Today he decided that it would also turn into 'roll myself over time'! Yup, he decided he didn't want to be on his tummy anymore and rolled onto his back! :-) Growing up far too fast for my liking!

The material for this week is in honor of football season starting!

Happy Friday/weekend everyone!

Aiden - 2 weeks

Our wonderful little monkey is 2 weeks old! I can't believe the last 2 weeks have come and gone. Chris returned to work today (just in time for a 3 day weekend), his mom is coming into town this afternoon/evening for a week and we're hoping to go visit Chris' brother, Danny, down in North Carolina this weekend (he's in the hospital down there after he was hit with an IED July 24th).

Once he hits a month I'll probably start giving information on what he's liking and doing, etc. But for now he's not doing much except eating, sleeping and pooping ;-)

He's sleeping decently off and on (as I sit here and type this he's been fighting sleep for over an hour... lol)

He's eating like a champ (2oz every 3 hours or so)

And steals my heart more and more every day!



OH, the fabric this week? It's in honor of his Uncle Danny, who he will get to meet tomorrow!

You Call this Healthcare?

As most of you know, Aiden Christopher was born on August 19 at 0609. He weighed in at 8lb 9oz and 22 inches long (definitely gets his height from his daddy!). Being active duty I had to deliver him at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda (about 45 minute away, on a GOOD day). Within my 9 months of pregnancy I've come to realize that Military medical stinks! Want some reasons? No worries, I've come prepared :-)

1. In the 9 months of my pregnancy (of which I was only seen for 7 months since they won't even SEE you until you're 9-12 weeks) I was seen 12+ times and saw 8+ doctors. This is absurd to me! If I can see the same doctor for the entire pregnancy out in town, why not in the military? Is the military that understaffed? Do they not think continuation of care is important? Or do they just think it's humorous to have a pregnant lady tell the different doctors the same information over and over again because none of them know the issues that have been going on? None of these are acceptable reasons to me.

2. Aiden was seen 3 times at NNMC within his first week of life. How many different doctors did he see? Two. Now again, is it not important for the SAME doctor to see the my child continuously? Would make more sense to me... especially since they don't appear to put the information that was discussed in his record or on the computer.

3. When discharged from the hospital the pediatrician said that Aiden had an appointment the following Monday at 1030. We get up, get ready and are about to leave the house when we get a call from the hospital saying that the only opening the actually had was for 1530! Then please tell me why I was told to be there at 1030... we live 45 MINUTES AWAY! This is now in the middle of rush hour... not acceptable.

4. All babies are required to have a 2 week follow-up with the doctor after birth. This is to ensure that their weight is going up, jaundice is non-existent and that circumcisions and such all healed properly. While at his third appointment at NNMC (he's 1 week old at this point) I tell them I need to make his 2 week follow-up in a week (they wouldn't allow me to make it earlier because he was still coming in to be seen), this SHOULD have been on either 1 or 2 September. What does the receptionist tell me? We have 7 September open. ummm... that's 3 weeks... it should be his 2 week follow-up, is that ok? Sure, as long as it's not before 2 weeks... THEN WHAT'S THE POINT OF IT BEING A 2 WEEK FOLLOW-UP????

Do I need to go on at this point? I didn't think so. Here's to hoping things get better in the healthcare department! :-)

Aiden - 1 week

I follow this blog. One of the most unique things they posted about was taking weekly photos of their little bean. Basically they take a new photo every week on a different yard of fabric and superimpose the week on a plain white onsie.

I thought this was a fantastic idea and decided to do the same with Aiden. After his first year we'll take the 52 photos and create a photo book. Who knows what we'll do with the fabric... I'm thinking maybe a quilt (YHL actually made a runner and some pennants for bean's first birthday). No matter what we decide to do with it, I think it's a fabulous way to track Aiden's growth in his first year. :-)

Enjoy!

Life With Baby - Week 1

For those that aren't aware; we have had our baby boy! Aiden Christopher Gronde was born Friday, 19 August at 0609. He weighed in at 8lb 9 oz and 22 inches long! He's absolutely precious, and perfect, and wonderful, and stunning... and well... I could go on and on... haha!

Anyway, things around Casa de la Gronde have definitely changed... but I'm not sure I'd have it any other way. There's less sleep, more noise, more stuff and definitely more smiles going around these parts! I'm absolutely in LOVE! *swoon*

Aiden is still trying to figure out the whole sleep pattern thing. One night he'll sleep for 6 hours at night and the next he'll be up every 3. The good thing is that he usually goes back to sleep pretty easily. He's currently sleeping in our room in this. It's truly been a blessing! We tried letting him sleep in his crib the second night we were home but that didn't go over too well (he was literally up almost every HOUR!); this just wouldn't do... Rock and Play it is! :-)

Chris started back to school tonight (technically he started yesterday but he/we lost track of the day and he missed his class... oops!); it's the first time just baby and mommy... he decided to sleep through most of it... haha!

OK, time for bed since monkey is out... will post pics soon! :-)