More Three Month Pics!

Here are some more pictures from various points during Reese's third month!

I love my PapaDoc!

Family Photo

All bundled up!

Ella checkin' me out.

Just chillin'!

I love my Ma-Ma!

Such a big strong Man!

Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! I know this is a little late, but I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I tell ya what...if Christmas were a marathon, I'd be a professional! Cameron and I have had a very busy Christmas day every year since we got married. We usually have five family Christmases excluding our little one first thing in the morning. It's always very busy and we get very tired, but tired in a good way. We enjoy getting to see family and spending Christmas with everyone. We knew this year was going to be a little different with our little addition. We had to spread out our family gatherings this year (and by spread out, I mean we did four family get togethers (excluding ours) instead of five). We were very tired and Reese was very tired, but we survived and he was back to his normal, happy self in a couple of days. We got things started at 6:45am, when Reese wanted to get up and eat. We did Christmas with our little family. Santa was very nice to Reese and brought him almost everything he asked for. We headed to Cochran around 9:15. We made the rounds at Cameron's Dad's, Dad's extended family, Mom's and headed back to the Valley around 6:00. Got to my parents around 7. Didn't get home till around 12:30am. It was a good day, though! We went back to Cochran the next day to have Christmas with Cameron's extended family on his Mom's side (which we used to do on Christmas Day, too). It was very busy. We had a good time with Reese in the morning doing Santa. He went to see Santa on Wednesday and had his picture taken! It's hard to believe Christmas is already over. Here are some pictures from the day!

Our Christmas tree in the living room

Our Christmas tree on the porch/den

Reese in his Christmas Eve pajamas...what a cute little booty!

Reese's haul from Santa! He must have been a good boy!

Stockings!

Best Christmas present of all!

3 Months

Dear Reese,

You are three months old today! One-quarter of a year old. It is flying by so quickly. It has been a very good month for us. You are really starting to show your cute little personality. You are very happy and smile all the time. Mommy and Daddy are still your favorite people, but you do like other people, too. You are happy, but you are a stubborn little boy! You want what you want when you want it and you let us know if you are not happy. We're getting better about anticipating your needs so you don't pitch a fit too terribly often! You are still nursing and are still a little piggy. I'm hoping that you will still be able to continue nursing when Mommy goes back to work in a few days. When Mommy "weighed" you today you weighed 12 lbs. Here are a couple of new things you are doing this month. You stay awake a little longer between naps, but are still on a pretty consistent 3/3.5 hour schedule during the day. You've been going to bed around 8:30/9 and getting up for a "dreamfeed" around 11. The past few nights have been great because you haven't made a peep all night and Mommy's had to wake you up at 7. If you do make a little noise you usually settle back down quickly without intervention. You are showing more interest in more toys, but still like your bouncy seat and playmat gym the best. Another thing you are doing is reaching for things on purpose. You like to reach for Mommy's mouth when I make silly noises. Probably the best you did this month was really laugh. You were naked on your changing table a couple of days ago and I started tickling you and singing. You started giggling. So I kept on and you kept laughing. Daddy came in a started tickling you with his beard and you just laughed and laughed. It was so sweet. However, you haven't done it again no matter how much we have tried to make you! You are growing up so fast and becoming more and more like a little man everyday! Mommy goes back to work next week and will miss being with you everyday all day, but it is necessary. We love you very much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

This is my first Christmas and I wanted to tell you some stuff I wanted you to bring me. First and foremost, keep the milk comin'! Mommy's millk is my favorite and I want to keep eating it for as long as I can! I don't really need a lot of stuff because, let's be honest, I'm not gonna remember this Christmas. I would really like some sun shades for the car windows. That bright Southern sun shines right in my face sometimes and I don't like it too much! I would also really like some church clothes and a few "I love Mommy" bibs (because let's face it...I do!). I only have one of those that fits but I have lots of "Daddy" bibs and a "Daddy" outfit or two. I would also really like the ability to laugh. I get so excited, especially when Mommy sings, and I try so hard, but nothing comes out. That's all I can think of for now. As evident by my bib, I have been very nice in my three short months. I only cry when I'm hungry, need my diaper changed, or just at bedtime. Even when I lived in my Mommy's belly I was very nice to her. I didn't make her sick or anything! I'm looking forward to a nice, long relationship with you Santa, so let's get started on the right foot! Thanks! I love you!

Love,

Reese K. Garvin

12 Weeks a Passin'

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 12 weeks a passin'. Another week has flown by and Reese is twelve weeks old today. I am so amazed at how much he has changed in even a week. He is still not laughing, but oh he wants to so badly! Something new he is doing this week is deliberately reaching for things. When I put him on the floor with his little play gym he loves reaching for the yellow bug. He also is rolling to his side from his back sometimes, but not all the way over. And he hasn't rolled over from his tummy to his back again since the one time he did it twice almost two months ago. I "weighed" him a couple of days ago and he weighed 12.5lbs. As you can see, his little cheeks are getting so chunky. We've also been battling a nasty case of cradle cap. It doesn't seem to bother him, but it bothers me! Next week will be three months, so I'll have much more Reese news and pictures!

Our good friends, the Crofts, came to visit us yesterday. It was the first time they'd seen Reese. They have a two and a half year old son and he was so cute! He kept looking at Reese and saying "Baby Reese" and wanting to share his toys with him. However, when Ellison was holding Reese, Ethan ran over and said "my Mommy!" They used to live in Americus, which is 45 minutes away but now they live in Gainesville which is about 3 hours away. We miss them being so close! It was good to get to see them, though.

In other baby news, congrats to two of my college friends on the births of their boys. My friend Virginia had her son, Ashley, on December 15th and my other friend Emily had her son, Barnes, on December 19th. Congrats ladies (and Daddies). Little boys are the best!

Such a Big Boy!

Okay...photoshop is being tempermental, but has decided to work for the time being. So, I'll run with it! Reese is amazingly strong for such a little guy! I mean, granted I don't have any real basis of comparison since I don't have other children, but I think he's pretty strong for his age. He'll be three months old in 11 days. I've put him in his Bumbo chair and he seemed to do okay in it. I wouldn't leave him in there for very long, but for a few minutes I think it's fine. He's always had really good neck control and I'm amazed at how he can hold up that big 'ol noggin'! He can sit for a minute in the middle of his rocker, but it doesn't last very long! Here are some pictures of my big strong Little Man...enjoy!

It is much easier to talk to you this way!

I think I'm about to outgrow my basket.

Sittin' up like a big boy in my rocking chair!

Uh-oh...going, going, going....

GONE!

**DISCLAIMER: No babies were hurt in the making of this blog post!**

11 Weeks!

Reese is 11 weeks old today! That means I only have three more weeks to be home with him before I have to go back to work. I'm very sad about that. But, as I've probably said before, it's only 3 days a week for now, so that makes it a little more bearable. Reese has changed so much in the past couple of weeks, I feel like he changes daily. I haven't weighed him since his doctor's appointment, but he feels heavier. The doctor said 12 lbs was the magic weight where babies started sleeping longer at night. But I think the "longer" part is what Reese is already doing, which is 6-7 hours. I am still having to get up between 4:30-5:30 but I just put his paci in and he's good. He's been doing it since right before he was 8 weeks old. Since then I've only had to nurse him maybe three times before his usually waketime. I really think if I just left him alone when he does wake up, he'd go back to sleep because his eyes are always closed when I go in there. I just don't like listening to him! And I don't want him to wake up Cameron because it's usually not too long before he has to get up anyway. I know, I'm so thoughtful. Reese and I usually stay up for about an hour and fifteen minutes first thing in the morning, including nursing, and then we both go back to bed for about an hour and a half. We're still on a pretty regular 3-3:30 hour schedule during the day. He is such a little piggy, too. He knows when he is positioned to nurse that the milk is coming and he starts grunting. He knows I nurse him on both sides every time and yet he pitches a fit when I switch him like he's gonna starve! Cameron told him last night he was only half-redheaded but had a full redheaded temper. Reese has become fascinated with his hands and loves staring at them and putting them in his mouth. He has become so much more vocal, too. He talks to his bouncy seat friends and the friends he has on his floor gym. Of course his favorite things to talk to are Mommy and Daddy. His smile melts my heart and I'm just waiting on him to laugh on a regular basis. I can feel his whole body tense up when he opens his mouth and smiles really big, but nothing comes out! Soon, though. They just grow up so fast. I mean, he's already reading (see pic below)...kidding!

I'm doing okay, but I am still recovering from my third (or fourth) bout of mastitis. I know I mentioned earlier that it resolved on it's own without antibiotics. Well, I don't think it did because a few days later I got a worse fever, chills, pain, blah, blah, blah. I'm so tired of dealing with it, but I'm sticking it out. We may have to re-evaluate when I go back to work and supplement with formula. We'll see! Well, I'll post some more pictures soon. We're having some issues with our Photoshop.

Tummy Time

Dear Mommy,

I hate tummy time. You know I hate tummy time. I know I hate tummy time. Why do you make me do it? I don't need to learn how to crawl. You can just carry me everywhere! I'll make you a deal. I'll keep being sweet and snuggle with you when you pick me up and carry me around and you quit making me do tummy time. Deal? I love you!

Love, Reese

2 Month Well-Baby Check Up

Reese had his two month well baby check up today! He had to get his first round of shots...five total! He was so pitiful, but only cried for a couple of minutes. The doc said basically he is right where he needs to be. Reese weighs 11lbs 10 ozs, is 22.5 inches long, and his big ol' noggin is 15.5 inches around. Dr. C continued to be impressed with Reese's strength (he had commented on how strong Reese was when he was three weeks old). We go back in two months.

I have been having a bit of an issue with mastitis again. It was in the right breast again. I am very frustrated and am not too sure why I keep getting it. But I've had it three times in one month. This time I started feeling better the next day and didn't even have a fever for 24 hours. So I decided to wait it out to see if it would resolve without antibiotics. My doctor called me in some anyway just in case my fever returned, which thankfully it didn't. I really want to keep breastfeeding for another couple of months, but if I keep getting mastitis every other week then I may not be able to. Reese is doing fine though, so it is not affecting him. He is gaining adequate weight and dirtying up plenty of diapers! So, I'll try to stick it out for his benefit.

We only have a 18 more days till Christmas! I've got some shopping to do. Well, first I have to figure out what to shop for. But, we're starting to get out more, so it should be no big deal to take Reese with me. I've already nursed him in the car (don't worry, I'm not driving...or moving!) a few times and it's fine. We are so looking forward to our first Christmas as parents. And even though Reese won't remember it, Cameron and I will!

More Two Month Pictures

Clean Baby!

Gettin' ready to go huntin'!

Don't tell Mommy what I'm telling you...it's a secret!

Strong Little Man!

2 Months Old

Thanksgiving

Well, I know this is a little late, but we had a very busy, packed holiday week(end). Cameron was off for almost a week, which was fabulous. My sister was home for almost a week, which was equally as fabulous. So, this Thanksgiving we were with my family. It was Cameron, Reese, my parents, my sister, my grandmother, and me. We had enough food to feed an army. It was wonderful. Cameron and I tried to be good, but of course we went over our points, but we knew we would!

***SIDE NOTE***

Cameron and I started WW back two weeks ago. So far, so good. I get lots of extra points for nursing, so that helps me not be hungry. So far I've lost about 8 lbs in two weeks! Not too bad.

Okay, back to Thanksgiving. It was great to hang out with Emmie so much and for her to see Reese. She hasn't seen him since he was three weeks old and he has changed so much. He's like a whole different baby!

Cameron absolutely loves this time of year and was super excited about getting our trees and decorating for Christmas. So, on Black Friday while all the crazy people were out at the butt crack shopping, we were getting our trees! Sunday we went to Cochran to visit with Cameron's grandparents and parents. Reese got to meet his great-great-Aunt Opal and his great-aunt Shirley.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. So, here is a tribute of things I'm thankful for.

My husband...I am so thankful the Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful husband. He truly is my soulmate and best friend. He has been so great throughout this whole pregnancy and while I find my footing as a mother. He is such a fabulous father to Reese and I am more in love with him everyday.

My family...from my immediate family, to my extended family, to my "in-law" family, everyone has been so excited and supportive about the pregnancy and having a baby in the family. I couldn't ask for a better family.

My friends...I love and miss my friends so much. I don't have anyone that lives here (in Fort Valley) but I do have friends that live in Macon and for that I am thankful. The rest of them are spread out anywhere from the metro Atlanta area, Savannah, Augusta, Lookout Mountain, and as far as Australia. I am so fortunate to have friends from every stage of my life: growing up, college, and dental school. I don't know if there are too many people who can say they have the same friends they had when they were in utero!

And last, but certainly not least, my precious Reese...I am sooooo thankful for my beautiful, healthy baby boy. He is perfect in every way and has been such a sweet, good baby. I am so fortunate that he is healthy and that I had a relatively easy pregnancy. Reese is such a blessing and I thank God every day that he is a part of my life.

I hope eveyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. The countdown is on till Christmas! I've got some shopping to do!

Two Months

Dear Reese,

Another month has come and gone and my how you have grown! You are such a different baby than you were a month ago. You smile and coo all the time. You started smiling a few weeks ago, but you are doing it all the time now. You love smiling at everyone, but your favorites are Mommy and Daddy. You love to hear Mommy sing and it makes you smile every time! You've even giggled a few times. It was music to Mommy's ears! You have rolled over twice in one tummy time session (which you hate!) but haven't done it since. You love thrusting your legs and arms and can stand up on our lap. Holding your head up is old hat. You can track a toy side to side and up and down.

The most important milestone you have reached is "sleeping through the night"! You have been doing that for almost a week now and Mommy and Daddy have been loving the uninterrupted sleep. Granted, it's only about 5-6 hours by the time we actually get in the bed and get asleep! You go to bed for the night between 11 and 11:30 are usually up between 6:30 and 7. Sometimes you fuss in the night, but you love your paci and it helps you calm down and go back to sleep. Reese, you love your bouncy seat and are starting to become fascinated by the animals that hang over you, particularly the monkey! We love you so much and can't wait to see what each day brings. You are learning and changing so much every day and growing up so fast! We love you very much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

RIP UGA VII and the Dawgs' Awful Season

Well, this season has not been the best season to start out your life as a UGA fan. But Reese has donned his black and red several weekends this year to cheer on the Dawgs. The following is a commentary of the failed attempt at victory against the Kentucky Wildcats this past Saturday.



But first, Reese was very excited to meet long-time UGA coach Vince Dooley on Friday (sorry it's a little blurry, I didn't know he was going to be there so this is with the cell).

And now, UK vs. UGA by Reese Garvin:

Let's get ready for some football!! Gooooooo Dawgs, Sic 'Em, Whoof, Whoof, Whoof!! I wore my new black outfit to show respect for Uga VII...RIP, Uga VII.

Good first half, guys! Way to come back and take the lead. Keep it up...we need a win tonight. Our season has been less than stellar.

Guys! What happened?! Why are we tied? Come on Dawgs, get it together!

Bleh!!! That's what I think about Kentucky and this stinky game. There's always next week, although I won't be holding my breath.

I'll post something over the weekend after Thanksgiving more about what Reese is doing. I didn't post an 8 week update because he's going to be two months old Saturday, so I was just waiting. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

7 Weeks

Well, 7 weeks have come and gone and in another 7 weeks, I have to go back to work. I'm kinda sad about that! Reese is so much more alert than he was even a week ago. He "talks" all the time and just acts like he really has something important to say. He's making sounds such as "ahh, ehh, gah, geh, goo, and oh". I've even caught him laughing a couple of times! He is such a happy baby! He looks like he is in deep thought in this picture! As best I can guess he weighs around 10.5lbs (I weighed myself and then weighed myself holding him...I know, it's very scientific). We also graduated from newborn to size 1 diapers. He has settled pretty well into a rhythm and handles himself okay when that rhythm gets thrown off. He pretty much gets up between 7-7:30am, nurses, plays, and then goes down for a nap, napping anywhere from 2 hours to only 45 minutes (depends on how fussy he is). He repeats this pretty much every three hours until "bedtime" at around 7:30. He gets up for a "dreamfed" around 10-10:30 and then goes right back down to sleep. Even if he's wide awake, which he is a lot of the time, we'll put him back in his basket and he'll just look around for a while until he falls asleep. Although, Cameron and I usually beat him to the Land of Nod, so I have no idea how long he stays awake. He doesn't cry, so I don't worry about it! After that he's usually up between 3 and 4 am to nurse and goes right back down. Then we do it all again the next day! I love the mornings the best because that's when he is the most alert and happy. He still gets kinda fussy in the afternoons and evenings sometimes, but he rarely cries when we put him down and if he does it isn't for very long. He is starting to like his bed and room more and more. He will just lay there with his eyes open and look around until we come get him (if it's time to get up) or until he falls asleep. Reese is such a joy to be around and I am loving being his Mommy!

By the way...mastitis strikes again! I'm pretty sure I've got it in the left breast this time. It feels the same as the right did and I'm running a very low grade temperature. I'm hoping they will just call me in the meds instead of making me come in and wait 2.5 hours to be seen for 5 minutes. Anywhoo...

29 and Holding...

This past Saturday was my birthday and unlike previous years, the build-up to the big day was non-existent. My parents used to always make such a big deal out of our birthdays that I have been obnoxiously excited about my birthday ever since I can remember. I'm talking starting Oct 14 at the latest I'm always saying "my birthday is in one month!" and it just gets worse the closer it gets (I know, what am I? 5 years old?!). I assume the excitement will go away after this year. I turned 29, or as I like to say, 29 and holding. This year, however, with the excitement of having a newborn (can I still call him a newborn at 7 weeks?) it kind of slipped up on me this year. And with my head being in a continuous fog, I was zero help coming up with gift ideas. My poor mother had to use a couple of things she'd gotten me for Christmas as my birthday gift because I was no help...oops!

My weekend was very busy with lots of visitors, phone calls, and texts. Not to mention the all important college football! Cameron really outdid himself pampering me and making me wonderful meals all weekend. Saturday he made me breakfast and dinner. My good friend Carolyn came down from ATL to hang out with us and meet Baby Reese, so we went out to lunch (but if we'd been home, I'm sure Cameron would have made that for me, too). Cameron's Dad and step-mom came over Saturday morning to see me...oh who am I kidding?! They came to see Reese! So, Sunday my parents, Cameron's mom and step-dad and grandparents came to celebrate. Cameron made brunch for us all. It was yummy! He also gave me the most beautiful flowers, made me a cupcake cake, and gave me a beautiful bracelet. Reese gave me a gift certificate for a massage (he told me he picked it out himself). I really racked up for someone who gave no one any ideas! I got a necklace and wine, money, a cute purse and wallet, a certificate for a spa pedicure, picture frames, socks, and a new dual tuner TiVo (so excited!) Of course my greatest gift came almost 7 weeks before my birthday. I thoroughly enjoyed my first birthday as a Mommy and look forward to many more!

6 Weeks and Possibly a Good Sleeper?!

Well, I'm hoping that Reese is developing some good nighttime sleeping habits. He's been going from about 10pm-4:30am the past couple of nights...over 6 hours!! So, if we can get that chunk of time moved from like 1-7 then we'll be golden! He's still having a little bit of an issue with daytime sleep. I'm still trying to learn his sleep cues and sometimes think I'm letting him get overtired so then he fusses and doesn't want to go to sleep. Sometimes he'll cry for a few minutes and konk out, other times he has to be rocked to sleep. He's starting to nurse for longer during the day so maybe he's gearing up for longer chunks at night?! One can only hope!

I can't believe he's 6 weeks old. I know I say "I can believe he's fill-in-the-blank" but I really just can't! He squealed for the first time on Saturday. I'm not sure if he did it on purpose or if it was just a fluke, but I'll take it! When he is so awake and alert it's very easy to get him to smile really big smiles. It's quite hilarious that the thing that really gets him going is the theme song from Friends. If he could laugh at me, he probably would. His little personality is just really starting to show. He was even cheering on the Dawgs Saturday even though they got smacked by FL (boo Gators!). He had fun, though! We didn't really dress him up for Halloween this year, although he did have a ghost onesie and a Baby's First Halloween outfit that we put on him. It swallowed him up! I think he is gaining weight pretty good and he is so long. He loves to just stretch out when you lay him on his changing table. We think he has outgrown the food scale because between him and casserole dish, it says "error"...there's an 11lb max. I'll try to weigh him with me on the scale soon. He doesn't go back to the doctor till December 9th, so we got awhile before we get an accurate measurement.

I had my 6 week postpartum check up today and everything is looking good. I don't have to go back unless something comes up. My mastitis is much better. Pretty much cleared up and hopefully that'll be the end of it. Overall I'm feeling pretty good!

On another note, we got our birth announcements in the mail today and I was so excited to see them. They are cute, but the finish on them makes them look cheap, which they weren't. It's almost like the finish on them isn't like a photograph, so the picture part looks like it was printed on card stock. Meaning there's no gloss or shine to it like a picture. We ordered them from Shutterfly so I was a little disappointed with the quality. We decided to send them back because we were just not happy with them. They are going to try to reprint them or give us a refund. We'll see how it turns out...we might be starting from square one.

Please, No Pictures

Oh, sweet baby! I love this picture. Reese had a photo shoot with Amy Hiley from Hiley Creative Photography (http://www.hileycreativephotography.com/) and he was slightly less than cooperative. He was a little diva! I think he was having a tummy ache, though, so it only lasted about 20 minutes, but she got some great pictures! Here are few of my favorites.



He's really smiling a ton lately and cooing all the time (when he's awake...and not crying). It's very sweet! I'm telling you what, nobody can make him smile like his Mama. Cameron's pretty close, but Reese always has a smile for Mommy! I just can't believe how much he's grown and changed. It's amazing!

In other news, I have mastitis in my right breast. I was running a moderate fever Monday night and all day Tuesday. I haven't had one today, so that's good. And I've had bad soreness, too, almost a bruised feeling. I just have to keep nursing and pumping and take the antibiotics they gave me and hopefully it'll clear up soon. And hopefully I won't get it again! I'm tellin' ya...motherhood is not for wussies!