We got to meet Laurie!

Laurie who?...you might ask. Laurie is the fabulous creator of those Whimsey Cookies that I absolutely love! Mom surprised me by ordering some fall cookies from her. So, off to Arlington we went, to meet her and pick them up. We were supposed to meet her at Arlington Florist at 11am this morning. We got down there early and decided go to Celeste, but ended up running into Laurie there. It was so nice to meet her!!! We had a nice talk and she got to see our Mills. I am so exhausted right now, and don't have the energy to get my camera out and take pictures, I only have energy to eat cookies :) So, to see the cookies she made for us, click here! HAHA!

So Far, So Good

It is night #2 of the "no bouncy seat" trial. I fed Mills at 10:15, he fell asleep during burping (that kids is the hardest to burp! soooo frustrating!), and I put him directly on his sleep wedge. Tonight I tried a sleep sack instead of the blanket. Blankets make me uneasy. The sleep sack was given to Mills at a shower. I totally forgot that Mills had one in his closet, until my friend Melissa recommended using it instead of a blanket. Thanks Melissa! It is so cozy and soft. I think Mills likes it too! I guess I'm going to have to invest in a few more of them. It is now 11:30pm and I am gathering all of our "loot" to take upstairs for the night. Every night and every morning I have to transfer all of Mills stuff (boppy, mylicon, bottles) from upstairs to downstairs and vice-versa. It is a chore, but hey, we do what we have to do, especially since we are all upstairs now. Mills is still sleeping. I am watching him on the monitor and he is O-U-T, not to mention that he actually looks comfy! Again, pray that this pattern continues. I have the "bouncy bouncy" close by just in case.

Mission Accomplished

Mills and I ran to Memphis this afternoon. I went to find Erik's dad a birthday present AND see if I could find Mills a Halloween costume. Everything I've found so far has been way to big for him, or I just didn't like it. I know he can't go "trick-or-treating," but I can't stand the thought of him missing out on dressing up (as if he really cares)...but I do!


We started out at Party City. I found a cute monkey, but it was too big. The pea n' a pod costume was cute, but too common, so we ended up at Target, and I found just what I was looking for. Perfect costume, perfect size! This year, our Mills will be a lobster! I can't wait. I only hope he'll like it too!

We're Up!

And the results from last night's trial....HE DID IT! Mills slept until 1:20am and woke for a feeding. I put him back in his crib, gave him his pappy, rubbed his head a bit, and he went back to sleep. He woke again at 5:35am for his next round of formula/breastmilk went back to sleep until 7:30, of course when he woke up then, he was fussing and doing his Jane Fonda workout. He was "exercising" so hard that he had scooted upward toward the head of the bed and his head was hanging off of the wedge. I'd be mad too! lol Now we've fixed our coffee and are sitting in the living room watching Dora. I don't know if he's paying much attention, but hey I'm trying. I just put it on for the sounds and animation. He is looking at it, though.

No Bouncy Seat

No, we didn't get rid of the "bouncy bouncy," as we call it. What we did do, is put Mills in his crib without it for the first time in 7.5 weeks. Yes, we have been letting him sleep in the bouncy seat, in his crib! It was not something I wanted to do, but as you may remember, our Mills had his days and nights mixed up terribly, and every time I would go to lay him down at night, he would scream bloody murder. I could look at him and tell that he was uncomfortable on the flat mattress. Just like his bassinet (travel crib), he wanted nothing to do with it. So, as desperate new parents who were seriously sleep deprived, we opted for none other than the bouncy seat. We knew it was a sure bet for getting Mills to sleep, so we gave into the advice that many of you gave us, and "did what we had to do," as you all called it. We put him in his bouncy seat and then put it in his crib.
Before Mills was born, I was the typical mom who said, we are NOT going to do this, and we are NOT going to do that. So, I will admit that I have eaten my words...I know some of you are laughing and saying, "I told you so!" Hey it takes experience to learn, and that's what we've done, learn.
Mills will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. For a week or so I have been saying, we've got to break him of this. I haven't been able to stand it, because I am afraid of developing a bad habit. The child can't sleep in it forever, and since I am off for the rest of the week, I decided to go ahead and give it a go. At least if he's up all night I don't have to get up early for work and attempt a morning ritual with no sleep. I bought one of those elevated crib wedges at Walmart a week a go, but haven't had the courage to give it a try. I was afraid of failure. Tonight we put him on it at 11:00. He kicked and flailed, then whimpered quite a bit. So, we got a light blanket, put it over his legs, then tucked them into the edges of the mattress so that it would not be anywhere near his face, and brought out the old faithful "pappy." So far, it is 11:35, and he is still asleep (here I go again jinxing myself). I am now watching him on the monitor. Please pray that this works. We can't have a bouncy seat sleeper forever!

We've hit the Jackpot..well almost!

I think its safe! Week before last, I told you all that I wasn't going to comment on our new formula, because I didn't want to jinx anything. I think that after almost 2 weeks, it may be safe now to report. Believe me, it was that bad, and so I was very afraid of jinxing myself. Now, Mills is doing WONDERFUL! After several recommendations, and trying several types of Enfamil and Similac, we switched (on our own, which may have been a "no no") to Goodstart Gentle Plus. Within 24 hours, our sweet Mills was a different baby. When they keep telling you to "give it a few more days," enough is enough. Besides, I don't think it could have gotten any worse, so why not chance it? Seeing our little one scream until his head looked like a tomato, and watching his veins pop out of his head from pushing is not going to make me "give it a few more days." I think a week was enough. Not only did his fussiness get better, and I say "better" because he is still a baby and is going to fuss anyway, but he started "pottying" on his own. We did use Karo with Dr. O's permission, but now, with this formula, we have stopped the Karo AND prune juice (which didn't last long anyway, because I didn't like giving it to him- he didn't like it either, yuck!); and we haven't used a suppository in about a week and a half. TMI...again, sorry!

Our Mills is staying awake most of the day, with the exception of a few catnaps, and sleeping 3-5 hours between feedings each night. He is VERY alert, staring everything down the he can get his eyes on, smiling, cooing, and he loves laying on his back kicking and flailing his arms. I am telling you, he did that in my belly from 21 weeks on. His favorite things are his swing, his bouncy seat, his pappy (well sometimes), riding in the car, and his two monkeys aka. "Sketchy" and "Swingsley." He is doing wonderful at "Mimi June's!" We are so relieved. She always gives a more than wonderful report upon pick-up. That always makes my day! Knowing that my baby is happy is such a relief and a blessing! We are so thankful that she is getting to keep him. Having family to babysit is the best, and she LOVES her all of children like they're her own. It was much easier leaving him last Monday, knowing that he would be in her care. I had a great week, because of it.

Now, its 11:28pm and our Mills still wide awake. Usually he is asleep by now and so I am hoping that before long, he will be sound asleep, as I have to work tomorrow! After swaddling (swaddling rocks!) and a bottle he is STILL observing everything in the room, ugh! He is not winding down at all. I am wondering if someone slipped some coffee into his last bottle! hehe

Our Visit with Lainey Drew

Today was our first visit with Lainey since she has come home from the hospital. We have been giving them time to settle in a couple of days before visiting, because I know from recent experience that the first few days home can be quite overwhelming and you can definitely have too many visitors! So, Whitney messaged me today wanting us to come over. Mills and Lainey finally got their first "photo-op" together. You can really see what I meant when I said that our sweet Mills has grown when he is lying next to her. Here are a few pics from our afternoon.

Gammy and Pops with their new grandbabies


Mills playing on Daddy's tummy...again!

Oh what a yawn!

The new cousins hanging out on the floor

While Lainey tries to nap, Mills looks at Whitney and I like we are crazy.

See how big he is compared to her...wow!

Mills accidentally gives Lainey a right-hook...she wasn't happy about it!

Mills Goes to Sunday School

Today was Mills' first time to church. What a rainy day! Of all days we decide to go back to church, it would be cold and rainy. When we woke up this morning, it was not yet raining, so I decided to go ahead and brave the task of getting ready, and then getting Mills bathed and dressed. Then, it kept getting worse outside, but after all of the trouble of preparation, I was not about to skip out, so off we went. I have been having church withdrawals for the past 7 weeks. We went to Sunday School and took Mills with us. We are not sending him to the nursery until he gets his shots. There were only 10 people in Sunday School. I guess the weather kept everyone else at home. Mills did well, then he got fussy (aka. hungry), so we decided not to "brave" worship service. We are taking baby steps, so maybe next week; and after Oct. 15, he will be able to run the nursery with the best of them!

Happy Birthday Erik!

Today, is my wonderful husband's (aka. Mills' Super Dad) 32nd birthday. He is still asleep, along with Mills and Joey, and I am up having a cup of coffee, enjoying the morning sunlight as it beams through our living room windows, and watching our Mills on the monitor. So far, it is such a beautiful day, a perfect day for a birthday, and Erik deserves it. I am hoping that they will both sleep in this morning, but I can't wait to give E his birthday present. I bought him a hunting shirt that he has been wanting for quite some time, and Mills got him a round of golf at Mirmichi (Justin Timberlake's course) in Millington. He hasn't yet played it since the change/takeover from Big Creek golf course. Although he's wanted to, I can't imagine why he hasn't had time. lol! This will MAKE him go! So, I can't wait for him to wake so I can bombard him with the gifts :) He deserves them! Happy Birthday sweetheart! I hope your day is the BEST!

LOVE,

Lainey Drew Sullivan

Our niece, Lainey Drew Sullivan was born yesterday, September 30, 2009, at 9:10am, weighing in at 7lbs. 2oz. 20". Isn't she beautiful? Drew and Whitney, we are so proud and excited. Mills has been waiting on his cousin! She and Mills are going to have so much fun.
We went to visit them last night at the hospital, I was unable to be there for her birth, because of work. Erik was there, but was sweet enough to take Mills and me back down. As I was standing over her holding my sweet Mills, I couldn't believe my eyes. Our tiny Mills looks huge compared to her, and she weighed more than he did at birth. It kind of made me sad to see how fast he is growing. I see him everyday so I can't really tell a big difference in his growth from one day to another.