Has It Really Been Three Months?

My little man turns 3 months old today!!

He has really grown up in the past month. Unofficially (because we don't go back to the doctor until next month), he has gained 3 pounds in the past month. He's fed, he's happy...we must be doing something right!

Matty really brightens up my day. I spend so much time playing with him and giving him kisses! I don't know what I did to fill my time before he got here.

I've been told that apparently I didn't tell a lot of people Matty's name before he got here. That certainly wasn't on purpose! It took us awhile to decide exactly what we were going to name him. We knew his middle name would be Anthony, after Saint Anthony of Padua. When Matt was confirmed he had to pick a saint, and Anthony was the saint he picked. It's meant a lot to him and his family. But Matt didn't know if he wanted to name our first child after him. We didn't think we could name a successive son "Matthew." However, I kept telling him (from before we got pregnant) that I wanted a little him, so his name had to be Matthew, right? Ultimately we settled on Matthew Anthony, and I think Matty is such an adorable nickname.

Back to our last month though...it has been a busy one!

Matty took his first swim in the pool!

Thanks to Aunt Carrie for the great float!

Check out Matty's Mickey swim suit and sunglasses!

My mom and dad (Lynnie and Grandfather) came for a visit, and Matty and I did a little photo shoot in the front yard.

You can see he wasn't really into taking pictures.

We did manage to capture some adorable faces on camera though!

"Seriously, mom?"

"Eh, I could smile and make her happy."

"Hehe, I've got a secret!"

I did finally get a few good pictures, including my favorite:

And then once Grandfather got his hands on him, Matty turned out a few of his famous smiles!

Matty and Lynnie

Most of our days are filled with eating, playing and pooping. He's mastered the first and third very well. And of course, he's most definitely mastered the sleeping routine.

You can see his favorite napping spot is sleeping on somebody...especially his sleeping buddy, Lynnie.

This week Matty has started laughing!! It really is the cutest thing, although it gives him the hiccups!!

That's it for now!!

Coming next month...our first trip to the SC State Fair, which will also be our first trip out of town (wish us luck!!). Also, our 4 months official stats!!

Until next time...

Raising a Child in Trying Times

Being in the news business means you have to check your opinions, and often your feelings, at the door. You will simply go mad if you internalize all of the bad news that happens in the world that you have to report on.

I have now left that business behind, and although I rarely offer an opinion on a major news story on here, now that I am a parent, I find myself wondering about the world my child is going to grow up in.

I admit I never flew in an airplane before 9/11 so I don't remember a time where people weren't hyper aware on board or a security line where you could keep your shoes on. Most likely my children will also never know that as a reality. I however have never felt uncomfortable or avoided a flight because of fear.

If there is one thing I can teach my child. It is not to live his life in fear. No one knows when his time is up. For a 13-month-old in Brunswick, Georgia, God called him home much too soon for those of us here. 13 people at the Navy Yard were just going to work when God decided he wanted them back in heaven. It is a tragedy, for sure. But the people who wreak havoc on our every day lives, they want us to live our lives in fear. Those are the "terrorists" we should really be concerned about.

None is us knows when our time will run out. Hopefully it will be decades from now and I will be able to see my children's children start to grow up.

In addition to raising a kind, loyal and honest child, I want my Matty to grow up fearless. I want him to take chances. I want him to make mistakes. And yes, I want him to fail on occasion because, if we are honest with ourselves, we learned many lessons from our failures.

I look forward to a world where those with mental illnesses get the treatment they need, and teenagers don't find themselves so bored that they want to shoot someone because they feel like it. I hope my child can grow up in a world like that. If he can't, I hope he will at least embrace every day and ploughing ahead at full force to live his life to the fullest.

Our Little Man

I have to admit...being a mom to my little guy has taken me by surprise! I find myself just staring at his little face for hours at a time -- giving no thought to the time that is passing by. I honestly can't say I'd rather be anywhere than where I am right now...sitting on the sofa with my first born on my shoulder.

Matty's personality is really starting to show. He doesn't cry a lot (which I am thankful for!). He really only cries when he gets overtired. He was crying when he was hungry, but we've done a better job at getting him his milk before he is starving. I think we've started noticing his early hunger cues, like when he's eating his hands. I can tell when he is getting tired too, but he goes from happy to crying when he's tired very quickly so there's only a short time to swoop in and soothe him to sleep.

And he is certainly a precious little guy when he is asleep.

I see this face multiple times a day

Matt's parents came to meet Matty this week. He had fun playing with Grandpa!

We had our two month doctor's visit today and our little guy is growing up so quickly!!

Here's a look at his stats:

Length: 24.5" (he has grown 3.5 inches since he was born!!!)

Weight: 13 lbs, 10 oz

Head size: 15.75" (he's got to hold a big brain in there)

The pediatrician, who we really like, said I was making some high octane milk. That made me and Matt laugh. The doctor said he was already reaching some 4 month milestones. I think I'm pretty objective in saying I have the best baby EVER!!!

And my favorite part of the blog...I'll leave you with some pictures from the past month. How cute is this little guy??

 This is where you can find him 98% of the time -- sleeping on his Daddy or me

Look at my little guy trying to wake up -- big stretch!!

What an adorable smile! We've been seeing more and more of these over the past two weeks.

No need to buckle me in Mom! I like to lounge while I sleep!

As you can see, our little guy is growing up quickly! I will treasure each minute I got to spend with him while I was on maternity leave...right now I can't imagine going back to work, but I know I have to.

Stay tuned for more from the Wooleys!

Until next time...

Look Who Is Two Months Old!!

How is my little guy already two months old? It feels like he was born yesterday, but then again sometimes it feels like we've had him forever! I can tell you the time I get to spend with him is never enough.

We have his two month visit on Thursday so I'll update you on his stats then, but I do know that he has gained at least 2 pounds from his last visit. We visited the pediatrician's lactation consultant two weeks ago to make sure everything was on track, and she said he is doing great!

Matty is a champion eater. He loves him some mommy milk! I am so thankful that I am able to breastfeed and give him what I think is best.

Last night our little guy slept for 10 HOURS STRAIGHT!!! I had to get up a few times to check on him, but he was a tired boy!

I'll post more details later this week...

Until then...

Motherhood...7 Weeks In

So I've only been doing this "mom thing" for about 7 weeks. I have to say it is both the most fulfilling and hardest thing I've ever done!! The first few weeks were difficult, getting up every 4 hours to feed Matty. My mom and dad came to help on the weekends, and them taking over 1 overnight feeding was SO helpful. We may have gone crazy without them!!

Our little man is growing up so fast! He's started to smile at me and Matt.

He loves his Mets Mickey Mouse (thanks Aunt Chaunte!) And he's starting to interact more with us. We started more scheduled naps this week and they have been going well.

There have been several things I've learned over the past 7 weeks that I think you can only learn...not be told. My main complaint? All the conflicting information! It is no wonder first time parents are confused. Not only are they sleep deprived, but they are getting a lot of information (much of it conflicting) really fast.

For example:

Breastfeeding is best. Your colostrum is the only thing baby needs. Just kidding, your baby is losing too much weight or your baby is jaundiced (and every medical professional knows milk doesn't come in on day one) -- you need to supplement with formula. But be careful giving him a bottle because that could confuse the baby and then he might not breastfeed anymore because he'll be used to the bottle, but remember breastfeeding is best!!

OR

Make sure you know how much your baby is eating. He should be eating between 20-30 ounces a day. Yes, we know there is absolutely no way you can tell how much your baby is eating if you are breastfeeding without having a scale to weigh him before and after, which is absurd because it's expensive. You don't need that. The only way to be completely sure (and if you want to stick with breastmilk) is to pump and feed from a bottle. But be careful pumping because pumping can hurt your supply, unless you're trying to build up your supply, then adding a pumping session can actually help your supply because it sends a message to your body that you need to produce more milk, but remember that baby is more efficient at getting milk out, although he'll probably eat less than what you pump. So pumping is good...except when it's not.

HOW is a new parent supposed to keep up??

The best advice we've gotten is to listen to everyone and do what you think is best. That's good advice, but how do you know what is actually best? Sometimes I think I'm overfeeding the baby, but the next day I worry he's not getting enough. AHHHH! In the end, it probably doesn't matter what you do as long as baby is happy and healthy, and Mom and Dad are staying sane.

Nevertheless...I love my little guy so much! I am loving the quality time I'm getting with him. Every day brings a new adventure and something new that each of us learns about one another.

I'll leave you with some of his newest pictures...

Eating was just TOO tiring!!

"Are you talking to me?"

In our next post...look forward to Matty's two month stats! He is a growing boy!!!

Until next time...

Look Who is 1 Month Old!

Has it really been a month already?? Part of me feels like it has been much longer...how has this little guy not been a part of our lives forever? The other part of me feels like we just got home from the hospital. I suppose I technically lost a week of that month actually in a hospital, but still...

He has certainly lived up to his name's meaning. Matthew means "gift from God." He has truly blessed Matt's and my life.

It has been a crazy busy month to be sure. Just after we got Matty home from the hospital he got dehydrated -- and gave us a pretty big scare. We rushed off to Kennestone's ER and they transferred him to CHOA at Scottish Rite. Note: I was NOT happy that my 5 day old baby boy was in an incubator being driven down the interstate in a specialized ambulance that said "pediatric/neonatal critical transport." The doctors at Children's were pretty sure he was just dehydrated, but since the ER docs at Kennestone had done a spinal tap and blood cultures, they admitted us for observation to be proactive with antibiotics just in case something developed from the cultures. Thankfully, everything turned out to be just fine...we figure it was a combination of a few things that led to Matty's dehydration, but given the amount he's eaten this past week, I don't think it is a problem any more.

As a side note, I have to give a HUGE shoutout to Children's Hospital of Atlanta. They were thorough, kind, and treated the entire family. When we were in the ER about to be admitted, they called upstairs and told them I'd had a c-section and was breastfeeding so the nurses brought in a bed for me so I could stay with our baby while he was being observed. They got a lactation consultant in to help us out. They provided me with a pump since the baby was being hydrated via an IV. And since I was breastfeeding, they provided me meals at no extra charge to us. The doctors were excellent. And the nursing staff was incredibly helpful during for our 3am feeding. They took Matty, fed him, and stayed with him so Matt and I could get some sleep!!! I did wake up up in the middle of the night and they hadn't brought him back, so naturally I freaked out a bit. Matt found him at the nurses station...apparently the nurses were enjoying holding him, and I guess I'd rather have my little one in someone's arms rather than a cold bassinet.

In fact, it looks like Matty prefers to be in someone's arms as well.

Matty with Grandfather

 Matty with Lynnie

As you can see, holding Matty is incredibly rough on my mom...

Anyway...our little guy turns ONE MONTH OLD today!! We celebrated with a trip to the pediatrician to get the latest stats on him!

Length: 22.25" (he's grown more than an inch since he was born!!)

Weight: 10 lbs 11.5 oz

Head size 15" (it's grown 1.25" since birth!)

The pediatrician says Matty's muscle tone is excellent, and he said Matty has already reached a 2-month milestone of holding his head up while he's on his stomach. And Matty is starting to "crawl" while he's on his tummy. (I know...it isn't real crawling just yet, but the pediatrician told us we are in trouble!!!)

Here are some pictures from Matty's first month. It's crazy to see how much he's changed from birth to now! I would encourage all new parents to really take the time to see their baby over the first few weeks...they change so quickly!

Coming home at 4 days

  

1 Month Old

I'm 1 Month Old!!

I've managed to get some great pictures of our little guy asleep...

One of my favorite pictures!!

I guess labor was tough on him too.

Just after a midnight feeding...he is "milk drunk"

Such a stressful day...he had to nap in his mamaroo

And I love some of the funny faces he's making!

Most of all...I am loving his smiles! I managed to catch one on camera, but most of the time I'm too busy lovin' on him to get too many other shots.

I suppose the right thing to say is I'm looking forward to watching our little guy grow up, but truth be told I want him to stay in this stage for a bit longer (although I will be happy when he can finally tell us exactly what he wants).

That being said, I have such big dreams for this guy. I am excited to see the little person he's going to grow in to. I want him to be sweet, kind, thoughtful, trustworthy, loyal, honest and funny (I'm sure I left off a few attributes). All of these traits should come easy for him...they're all traits his Daddy has.

I am loving spending quality time with my little man. We're definitely still figuring things out, but I hope he'd say that we're getting better at it!

Until next time...