Four Weeks Old Today

Look what Aaron found!

It's himself in the mirror! I've been putting him here each morning while I get ready and today he finally noticed the baby staring back at him!

Here is he examining that baby.

Here he is on a hooded blanket his Great Grandma Sandy made for him. It's a really light color and so nice. He loves it.

BUT, he doesn't love having his picture taken! Do you have any idea how many shots I have to take to get a few to post on here?

Today he was working really hard at rolling over. Here he is attempting it.


I get to see this every morning! How blessed am I?

Three Weeks Old

I am sure there is a time when I am supposed to stop celebrating Aaron's birthday each week, but I'm not ready yet. And as long as he keeps getting weekly birthday cards from his grandparents, I feel like it's alright. Right? Here are some pictures from today.

I have to give a huge thank you to Erica, the NICU nurse who visited my blog and advised that Tummy Time could be done on an exercise ball. Who knew? Aaron LOVED it! And he did exactly what he was supposed to do - he pushed up SO well. And there was NO fussing - until I took him off the ball. He yelled at me for ENDING Tummy Time! Oh, I was so happy. And you could just see how much he was enjoying it. I couldn't get pictures, but we'll do it with Daddy here so that he can snap some.

Look at this! A real live Jack in the Box! Our friends Adam and Stacy sent it to Aaron, but Jory and I have been loving it! I hope Aaron likes it as much as we do!

Aaron has been doing great with muscle control. When he is sitting on my lap, he can hold his head up on his own. I can't believe how quickly he is changing and developing. He is holding things more and more and having more expressions every day. This is such a fun time!

Happy April - we're looking forward to a wonderful month with our precious boy!

A Very Good Day

The pictures in this post have nothing to do with the actual post, they are just there to break up all the words. They were all taken within the last four days.

We had Aaron's two week doctor's appointment today and it went great! He's not quite up to his birth weight yet, but he's close and he's gaining weight really well. The doctor said that it's harder for big babies to regain their weight in the first two weeks, so he wasn't at all concerned and we don't have to go back until Aaron's two months old.

On the other hand, Aaron is growing lengthwise with no problem. He is in the 95th percentile on height! Wow. He may be tall and skinny?

Everything about the appointment went well. Aaron is doing GREAT. He is already showing great muscle control and holding his head up some. The doctor was also impressed with how content Aaron is. And he is such a content baby! The doctor said he's low maintenance and it reflects on how laid back his parents are...Go ahead and bring on the jokes.

Seriously, though, one of Aaron's parents is a pretty easy-going parent. Takes things in stride, not a lot of worrying. The other one, not so much. That one's got the pediatrician's number on speed dial and is convinced every time Aaron cries that there is - clearly - a major issue. Want to guess which parent is which?

On the other hand, one of Aaron's parents took to the tasks of parenting so quickly and naturally it was like second nature. Diapering, swaddling, soothing, you name it. The other one, not so much. That one's still trying to figure out how to change a diaper without getting peed on and has seen a diaper or two fall off! Not to mention that getting BOTH arms in the swaddle seems rather daunting. Want to guess which parent is which?

The pediatrician did tell me that I need to be taking a nap every day. He said that even though I'm getting eight hours of sleep a night it's interrupted which brings down the quality and I need to make that up with more quantity. I haven't napped during the day yet, partially because I really haven't been tired and partially because Aaron hasn't slept much during the day. However, today was a super day as far as Aaron's sleeping goes!

He's napped after every meal (after a little awake time) and there's been no fussiness. He's slept so peacefully that I've checked on him often to make sure he's still breathing. I was certain something must be wrong for this child to be sleeping a couple of hours at a time during the day!

He also napped today in his crib. What a big step! And he LOVES the Reveille mobile which is good since I think that's what gets him to sleep so quickly. However, I don't care who you are, the War Hymn gets old. And for the Die Hard Aggies that don't believe that, I invite you to my house. Any time. Come on over. I'll leave. You can hang out with Aaron and listen to the mobile. For hours.

In other exciting news, Aaron now has a belly button! Oh my gosh it is so cute! I could just eat it up! The doctor said we still have to wait a few days before immersion baths, but it's looking good.

The doctor also reminded me to do Tummy Time about three times a day for five minutes each. Yeah. Do you have any idea how much Aaron hates Tummy Time? Jory will not be in the house when Tummy Time is happening. He was here for the very first experience and immediately announced that Tummy Time is stupid and was clearly invented by a T-Sip. He, therefore, will not enforce it so Tummy Time is left to Mama. Uggg.

But, with the exception of Tummy Time, Aaron is such a sweet baby! He wakes up sweet - even when I wake him up. The kid, I swear, smiles while he's spitting up. We just couldn't have a more content baby blessing our lives. We love him so much and he is just such a joy!

Finally, Aaron received his Social Security card today! He's a real live citizen. YAY!

Two Week Recap

Aaron is two weeks old today and he got his first birthday card - from Kimmie and Papa John! It was too cute! Here is what his first two weeks have consisted of. (I'm picking from the over 100 pictures I've taken in his first two weeks. Don't tell anyone.)

This was taken in the operating room as soon as he was born. I love this picture, but maybe it's something only a mother can love? Jory did such a good job of documenting all of the moments I missed at the beginning and I just fell in love with these early pictures.

This picture cracks me up every time I look at it. The grandparents have been waiting so long for Mr. Aaron's arrival and all they could do was stare! I think it's adorable.

And here's the reason the grandparents had to stare from afar. Daddy was not letting his Little Man go. He just held him and stared at him oblivious to the fact that anyone else was in the room. He still does that! I love it!

Here are some good grandma pictures - after I convinced Jory to let someone else hold him!

And moving on from his first day, here's Aaron in his coming home outfit.

And here he is at home. Doesn't he seem excited about his room?

Here he is at three days old with his cousin Meredith. How content is he? I think we have a babysitter!

Big day out to the doctor.
First holiday!

Sucking up to the people who can really spoil him...

One week old

Ten days old with Grandma Beth from Ohio



Just being cute. I had to get more pictures in his Coming Home sleeper because he has almost outgrown it!




Using the Tummy Time mat for photo ops since using it for tummy time just makes him mad

On the way to get the PKU Test. What a horrible experience - for Aaron and for Mama!

AND...Two Weeks Old Today!

Mama Update

So many of you have asked how I'm doing, so I thought I'd do an update, but I'll pepper it with lots of pictures of Aaron for those of you that just come here to see his cuteness (and I don't blame you!). This is Aaron at ten days old with his great-grandmother 'Big Mom'.

I really am doing quite well. Physically, I still have some discomfort and I am off all medication except for Motrin, but I am not in pain. I can do almost everything now, but will still be restricted on lifting for a few more weeks. I can carry Aaron fine as long as he's not in a carrier, bouncer, car seat, etc. I should be able to drive starting tomorrow and that will be very nice. Of course, I can't take Aaron anywhere, but it still seems so freeing to know that I CAN drive! Here's a photo op in one of his cute outfits with his first monogrammed item! Angela from my Sunday School class brought this wonderful blanket for Aaron!

Physically, I was very blessed. I never felt the pain that my doctor and nurse assured me that I would. Getting Aaron out of me was quite an ordeal and was rather uncomfortable even with the spinal. I was told to expect debilitating pain and that never came. I actually never experienced more than discomfort when medication would be wearing off. All in all, Aaron's birth was such a good experience. With the exception of nausea from the anesthesia, it was a breeze, and even that wasn't bad. God did watch out for me and definitely showed me that His ways are better than my ways!

Mimi and Grandad think Aaron is the greatest!

Emotionally, I had a little harder time, though less than two weeks after Aaron's birth I can say I am back to normal and on even keel, so even that wasn't bad! On the one hand, I would say that hormone overload is a very real thing, but on the other hand I'm not entirely sure that's it. Jory and I spent three nights in the hospital and during that entire time he slept 7 1/2 hours and I slept about 1/3 of that. So, coming home we were exhausted and we had experienced SO much stimulation! Nurses every 30 minutes, doctors, specialists, meal deliveries, hospital personnel just checking on our experience, you name it. We were so ready for some down time. SO, I think we were both on edge our first week home and I don't know whether that can be blamed on hormones for me or on running on overload. In any case, I did struggle to not get frustrated too easily and I often failed which made me feel horrible. I hated not feeling in control of my emotions. That was definitely the hardest part of having a baby for me. But I felt myself snapping out of that this weekend and I really do feel good now.

I've lost 25 of my 35 pounds, but I guess that comes with having an almost ten pound baby. I can't exercise or diet for a while, so I may need to get comfortable with the last ten pounds. I'm back in my pre-pregnancy clothes, but they sure don't look like they used to!

As far as life with Aaron, it is very easy. I am sleeping eight hours a night! Honestly. Though, of course, it's not all at one time. I feel very good during the day and have not needed to nap. We do go to bed super early, though, which is how we are getting all that sleep. We're in bed between 7 and 8 and I fall right to sleep. Immediately. Jory has a little harder time dosing off when the sun's still up, but he gets a little extra sleep time when I'm nursing.

Aaron is a very good eater and nursing came quite easily and naturally to both he and I. I have started to pump to ensure that he'll be able to eat when I'm not around him and that was definitely not natural, but after several phone calls to Jory's cousin I've got it down.

Aaron is an awesome sleeper. At night he goes 3-4 hours at a time. He generally won't go to sleep without being held, and that can take up to an hour, but once he's down we are good to go. The days are harder than the nights. He has more fussy times, but they aren't horrible and they aren't in the middle of the night so we are - once again - counting our blessings.

All in all, things are very good in the Allen household. We are getting to know Aaron and he is trying to get used to the fact that we are apparently not going anywhere! We are truly enjoying our son and the blessings that God has bestowed upon us. We are so grateful to all of you for keeping up with us and constantly checking on our well-being. We love you so much!