Meeting the Stephens Family

The long-awaited visit had finally arrived! Aiden got to meet his Auntie Melissa, Uncle Derek and cousins Grady and Kendall. They were joined by Grandma and Papa Mike (and Blondie) while they stayed with us for 5 days. I know Melissa and Grady in particular had been counting down the days until they got to meet Aiden! Grady has become quite enamored with his baby cousin during our FaceTime chats!

Aiden had a lot of "firsts" while they were here. We took him to Farmer's Market for the first time, a Saturday staple in our household. He slept the whole time and hung out in the shade with Daddy while Mommy, Grandma and Auntie Melissa went shopping and Derek, Grady and Kendall played on the playground. (Papa Mike stayed back at the house with the doggies).

Aiden also had his first 6-hour sleep fest. It was a small miracle and I kept looking at the clock in disbelief when he woke up. I could get used to this! Keep it up, buddy!

He went for his first long walk. We have been taking Aiden on walks around the neighborhood, but since they usually happen in the afternoon/evening after it cools off outside, he doesn't have a long tolerance for being in the stroller and we've been keeping the walks relatively short as a result. But this time we snuck out in the morning before it got too hot and went for walk on the path along the main road by our house. He did pretty good, but started getting tired and did his half-strength cry for most of the way back.

It got pretty hot during their visit (108 degrees!), so to get the kids out of the house and away from the TV, we escaped to Cayucos and took Aiden on his first trip to the beach. It was a good 30 degrees cooler and had a nice breeze. I think he liked the sound of the waves, because he promptly fell asleep. Kendall had fun just playing in the sand, while Grady played paddleball and made sand castles with his Uncle Jeff.

 

 

 

 

We also took Aiden on his first trip to the park. We have a great park near our house (Sherwood Forest Park) that has a big playground with some neat equipment and comes complete with a castle and dragon! The kids had fun, and once again, Aiden fell asleep. I'm sensing a theme here...

Aiden also had another blowout. Really, kiddo...you don't need to make this a frequent event! So Grandma got to help clean him off (she always says she doesn't mind poopy diapers!), and Kendall helped give him a bath. Although, her "helping" was mostly her playing with the water and dumping it on his face. It was still cute!

We also spent a lot of time reading books, coloring, sidewalk bowling, and snuggling with Aiden.

It was great having everyone here. Makes me wish we lived closer together so the cousins could hang out more! Hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again!

4th of July

Nonni and Papa Bill came up for the 4th of July. They helped Jeff do some major yard work...we rented a trencher and trenched along the perimeter of the yard to run sprinkler/drip lines for future planting along the fence. Since we had the trencher for the whole day, they used it to dig giant holes in the ground to plant some shade trees to help save our grass, decrease our water use, and hopefully help cool off the house. We planted two shade trees (Chinese Pistache and Red Maple) and a dwarf Comice Pear (to rival Harry & David) tree. It will be nice when they are fully grown...stay tuned in 10 years! Ha! While they were all working hard out in the heat, Aiden and I stayed cool in the house. Thanks for all your hard work, Jeff, Mom and Dad!

We also had more visitors...family friends Ellen (aka, Elkie) and Dana were passing through on their way home from Monterey and got to meet Aiden. He stayed awake for most of their visit and then promptly passed out after they left.

We didn't actually see any fireworks on the 4th. Everyone was exhausted from the heat and hard work, and they moved where they shot off the fireworks so we can no longer see them from our house. Bummer! But we did enjoy a yummy BBQ of hamburgers and corn on the cob, and dressed Aiden in his cute little outfit!

Aiden also experienced his first blowout diaper. Well, we all experienced it. Of course it happened while I was nursing him, so he got poop all over himself, me, the Boppy and the pillow I had the Boppy propped on since I was still in bed. Needless to say, everything promptly went in the wash and Aiden got a bath. I knew it was bound to happen one of these days, but I'm hoping there aren't too many of them in our future!

Hoping you all had a fun and safe 4th of July!

Weeks 5 & 6

Aiden was nice enough to give us a taste of what longer periods of uninterrupted sleep feels like. He went a whole 4 1/2 hours before he woke up! I never thought I'd be so excited to get that little sleep. How things change once you're a mommy!

He is starting to coo (which is adorable!) and his sort-of smiles are becoming more frequent. He is starting to smile in response to seeing me and Jeff, which melts my heart! He is also starting to play with his tongue. Who knew it was such a fun toy?!

Aiden loves his playmat, and will tolerate tummy time ok while he's under there. He isn't quite sure what to think of the music, lights and bright colors, but is making friends with the animals. He discovered himself in the mirror, and kept staring at the cute baby who was looking at him.

I have been trying the whole sleep-training thing, but not too successfully. We only made it through one round of "crying it out", and I think it was more than either of us could handle. He was crying so hysterically after 10 minutes that his little body was shaking and he whimpered when I picked him up. It was an instant guilt trip and tear-inducer. We've been trying what I like to call the "rinse and repeat" method instead...put him down when he gets drowsy, pick him back up when he starts to fuss, rinse and repeat. It hasn't been too successful thus far, but we'll see if I can keep up with it. It is definitely time-consuming!

We've also been working on trying to transition Aiden to his crib. He has been sleeping in our room in the bassinet attachment of the Pack N Play, but he is quickly outgrowing it and will not fit for much longer! He isn't too fond of the crib so far, but we did have one 45 minute nap in it!

Jeff was nice enough to let me escape on Saturday morning to go to Farmer's Market and Target. I have been getting pretty stir-crazy since we aren't taking Aiden anywhere crowded or with recirculated air until he gets his shots...too much Measles and Whooping Cough going around! I was gone for a little less than 2 hours, and Aiden was well-behaved for Daddy. He woke up right as I got home, just in time for another round at the milk bar.

Aiden got to meet his Great Aunt Linda. He was nice enough to wake up while she was here so she got to see his eyes and interact with him. Although, he's still pretty darn cute when he's sleeping!

Father's Day

We didn't do much for Father's Day. Aiden had been suuuuuuuuper fussy the day before. I'm talking wanting to eat every hour, crying non-stop for 30 minutes after and then sleeping for 30 minutes. Rinse and repeat from 2pm to 7pm. We all wanted to cry by the end of it. Needless to say, we weren't in the mood nor did we have the energy to do anything exciting.

Aiden gave Daddy a Star Wars shirt and wore a cute onesie in honor of the occasion.

We also gave Aiden his first bottle. He was not a fan of it at first and took a while to warm up to the idea of it. But once he figured it out, boy did he love it! He was wondering why we had been holding out on him!

Jeff is such a great daddy to Aiden. The love he has for him, even when it is the middle of the night or he when he is crying uncontrollably (Aiden that is) is precious. He rushes home from work every day to come see his little man. And there is no denying that Aiden is Jeff's mini-me. He makes sure we all get fed, looks after the dogs, and runs errands since Aiden and I are pretty much under house arrest until he gets all his shots. Thanks for all you do, Daddy! We love you!

1 Month

Our little Aiden is already 1 month old! Where has the time gone?!

  

 

He is growing like a weed and has already outgrown his newborn clothes and newborn diapers! He is working on his smile, is starting to coo, and is able to hold his head up pretty well during tummy-time and when we hold him. He can even scoot up on his playmat during tummy time with his little frog legs! He is starting to focus on things and faces, and loves to look at the light coming in through the windows. He loves snuggle time and his binky too!

Here are his 1 month stats:

Weight: 10 pounds, 3 ounces (47th percentile)

Length: 23.25 inches (97th percentile)

Head circumference: 14.86 inches (55th percentile)

His doctor says everything is looking great! We are supposed to start sleep training him now because our little snuggle bug only wants to fall asleep if someone is holding him. We know it's cute now but we'll regret it down the road. Here's to hopefully very few tears (both Mommy and Aiden!). We are also to start giving him a bottle once a day so he will have a smooth transition when I head back to work. Time to crank up the pumping!

We also got a short visit from Aiden's Great Aunt Judy while she was down from Alaska. It was great getting to see her, even if just for a short time.

I also made my first great excursion since Aiden was born...I got my hair done. My mom came down with me and Aiden to SLO and basically walked around downtown with him in the Baby Bjorn during my appointment. I had to nurse him in the middle of the appointment and in the car afterward, but he did great! Thanks, Mom!

We also learned that he loves the Bjorn, and I now wear it around the house when he won't stop fussing. A bonus of it is I get the use of my hands back!

Aiden's First Bath

Aiden's umbilical cord fell off at 1 week so we were all clear to give him his first bath. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it. He seemed to like the warm water, until it was time to pour water on his head.

 
I think his favorite part was snuggling in his towel afterward.