6 Months Old

Dallin has been growing like crazy! He is now 16 lbs 2.5 oz and 27 inches long. Our baby is growing too quickly. Time needs to stop! This month he started to scoot around the floor. Some of his greatest motivators are remotes. He just loves them. I find now that if I leave the room I will always come back to him in a totally different place than I left him. Time to baby-proof! 

Likes:

+ Remotes

+ Phones

+ Rolling 

+ Books 

+ His carseat

+ Standing and scooting

+ The Ants Go Marching song (It is his absolute favorite)

+ Bath time

Dislikes:

+ Going down for naps

+ Mommy leaving him for even a second

+ Oatmeal 

+ Sitting (he always locks his legs so that he can stand instead)

5 Months Old

At five months old, Dallin is 14.4 pounds and 26 inches long. This month he started solids! He is okay with rice cereal and sweet potatoes but he really likes his bananas! He reaches for them and can't get them in his mouth fast enough. He got his first cold this month as well and it really threw off his sleeping patterns. He was giving a solid 8 hour stretch then another 3 hours after that, but after his cold he hasn't been the same. Now he is waking 1-3 times at night. Hopefully he will get back on his good sleeping schedule soon! 

Rolling over has become second nature to him now. He easily rolls from his back to his belly and has even made a couple trips across our living room, only to be stopped by the couch. His rolling is contributing to his lack of sleep as well, I often walk into his room because he is crying and he is on his stomach with his face pressed against the walls of his crib. Also with the rolling comes tougher diaper changes. He thinks it is pretty fun to try and roll over in the middle of changing his diaper. It can take 5 minutes to get him to just lay still so that we can finish. Oh the fun! :)

Dallin also likes to do baby crunches. He tries to sit forward in his swing, in the bath, and in his car seat. He also still loves to stand up and will sometimes fight me when I try to get him to sit down. He is also interested in everything that we hold in our hands. He always grabs at whatever it is and tries to put it in his mouth. 

Our boy likes to interact with the people around him. At church he will smile and interact with the people behind us. He loves to coo and talk when we are out as well. Every time I go visit people in the ward he talks up a storm. He was screaming for fun a lot this month as well, but thankfully that has ended! 

Overall, we love our baby boy and love watching him grow!

Happy Halloween!

Dallin's first Halloween wasn't really eventful. The activities were obviously mostly for us! I saw this adorable T-rex costume at Costco and had to buy it. He looked so cute in it! 

Once Tyler got home, we dressed Dallin up and went over to the retirement home that is right next door to us. The residents were gathered in a room and we just paraded him around and got some candy for us. Dallin wasn't too thrilled. He didn't give anyone a smile like he normally would. But that's okay. There is always next year! 

Fall Colors

Tyler and I decided that today we would go drive the Alpine Loop that we heard so much about. I was amazed at how beautiful it was! Here are some pictures of the scenery:

4 Months Old

Dallin is 4 months old now! Time is flying! We went to the doctor for a well visit and the results are in....Dallin is no longer in the 10th percentile for weight. He is now in the 16th ;). That puts him at 13 lbs 14 oz! And he is 26 inches long which puts him in the 83rd percentile. So our boy is long and skinny! 

My favorite thing Dallin started to do was belly laugh. It all started in the bath and now we can get him to giggle to the silly songs we sing or the funny faces we make. He smiles a bit more for the camera as well and he is getting more interested in the computer when we skype with his grandparents. He is so much fun!

This month, Dallin learned to love toys more. He now will pick up toys around him and entertain himself for a little while.  He loves to stand up all the time and so putting him in his bouncer helps a lot! He is also loves blowing spit bubbles and making noises with his lips.

We have been teaching him to sit up and he is finally realizing he can use his arms to hold himself up rather than flopping forward. He is making progress! Dallin started giving a high pitched cry/squeal when I lay him on the floor. He would much rather be held! 

Our boy still struggles with naps. He quit taking a pacifier (he never really took it well anyways) and so naps have become harder. We try for 3 naps every day but we dont always get them! He usually wakes up after 30 minutes. However, he does sleep well at night. He is still giving us a 6-7 hour stretch and then another 3-4 hour stretch. He is also now in his own room, in his own crib, and sleeping without being swaddled. 

We think he has a possible milk sensitivity as well. So now I am off all dairy and it seems to be helping him. He isn't spitting up as much and gained weight pretty fast when I went off of it. I don't know if that is just a coincidence or not but I will try eating dairy again in a couple months and see how well that goes. 

Now for the pictures, such a cutie! 

Can you tell he didn't want to take pictures on the floor?

Staring at the camera. What is that thing?

Much happier to be sitting up!

3 Months Old

Dallin is 3 months old now! I cant believe it. He is becoming more and more fun every day. He weighs 13 pounds and is 23.5 inches long. He loves to smile and he loves to talk! We have quite the conversations with each other now. He loves it when I sing and will smile and squeal. He loves to be held and loves to stand up with our help. 

He now sleeps 6-7 hours most nights for the first stretch and then another 3-4 the next stretch. He is eating every 2 hours as well. His fingers are in his mouth a lot more now and he is a slobber king. He is a champ at tummy time and will hold his head up the majority of the time, even if he doesnt like to. He does really well in church and still does really well on our outings. 

My man doesnt like to be apart from me for long, and will cry pretty fast. He watches me wherever I go. He is more interested in toys and will gently reach out and touch things. He still needs to be encouraged to grab toys but I think we are making progress in that area. 

Naps are the hardest part of our day. He is a cat napper. I have been trying to get him to learn to nap on his own so that I can accomplish some things around the house. We are making slow but steady progress. But at least he sleeps well at night! 

2 Months Old

At 2 months old, Dallin was 10 pounds 5 ounces and was 22.5 inches long. During this month he transitioned out of his newborn clothes and into 3-6 month clothes. He got his first vaccines which was hard :( poor baby doesn't do well with pain. He began to sleep a lot better and every night I got about 5-6 hours in the first stretch then another 3 hours after that. He was a big eater and ate every 2-3 hours. While toys still weren't been his favorite, he did start to look at them and observe the more. He still loved lights and was drawn to them. He became more of a smiler. However, he made it hard for me to capture those smiles. He liked to stare at the camera and not smile. We were able to get him to smile for some pictures though!

Dallin also found his hands and put them in his mouth every so often. During tummy time he showed how strong he was. He lifted his head a lot more and again rolled over. He had excellent head control when we held him on our shoulder. He did really well during car rides as he has since birth.  He knows who his mommy is and he cried more. Whenever I would leave the room it didn't take long for him to cry and tell me to come back. He didn't nap well and in order for him to nap he had to be held.
He learned to like baths more and more but he hated drying off and putting lotion on. Overall, he has been such a good baby!

1 Month Old

During Dallin's first month of life, we started to understand a little more of his personality. He was so calm. He really only cried when he was hungry. He ate every 2-3 hours and learned to sleep really well at night for a newborn. He gave me the occasional 5 hour stretch! however he was typically up every 3-4 hours. Tyler was super helpful and helped me with the night feedings. However, in the day time, he was quite awake. When we tried to take his newborn pictures, it was a struggle to get him to sleep! 

Dallin loved lights. Wherever there was a light, he was sure to find it and stare. He followed Tyler and I and knew our voices. He also had a strong neck since birth. He was holding his head fairly well and was always trying to lift it and look around when on our shoulder. He also rolled over! We also got some sweet smiles from him. 

At one month he was about 21 inches long and weighed about 8 lbs. 

Dallin's Birth Story

June 4, 2014

My mom was gone with my Aunt Judy to go on a hike. She texted me early that morning and asked if she was okay to go because she didnt want to go and miss out on the birth. I told her yes she could go. I had had an ok night. Sure I had some burning in my lower abdomen and frequent braxton hicks, but that had happened before. However, I woke up like a half hour later and sat up. The moment I did so, I felt a little pop. I wasnt sure what happened but i knew i was leaking fluid. Turns out my water had broke and my burning, crampy feelings turned into pain that was happening frequently. So i texted my mom to hurry and come back to our apartment. I was feeling contractions every 4 minutes for quite a while. They made me stop and bed over to ease the pain.

I hadnt packed anything because I was in denial that I would have my baby early, despite what everyone else thought. So Tyler helped me pack and get everything ready. Around 9 AM we went to the hospital and went to triage to be monitored. My contractions had slowed at this point but they were still happening. The checked to see if my water had broken, and indeed it had. So they checked me in around 10 AM. I was still only 2.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. 

 The started giving me pitocin to keep my contractions going.  A little went a long way because my contractions rammed up and were super painful. I was getting terrible back labor. The nurses said that they could give me the epidural whenever I wanted it so they ordered one and I got it around 11:30. Such an amazing drug! I couldn't feel any pain but I could still move my legs. It made my short wait much better. They came and checked me around 12:30. The nurse was surprised how quickly I progressed. I was already an 8 and 100% effaced! So the nurse went and got a doctor. I wasnt able to deliver with the doctor I chose. Instead i got someone else. But I didnt mind. I had changed OBGYN's 3 times since I found out I was pregnant.

The nurse came back and we did some practice pushes. She said I was a great pusher and would have Dallin out in no time. Once the doctor was in, the ball got rolling. Three pushes per contraction feels like a lot, but it didnt take long and Dallin was born!At 1:13 PM he entered the world. He came out and cried and peed. I didnt even know he was out till they told me...I was still pushing haha. The epidural sure did its job!

The nurse wiped him off a little then placed him on my chest. It was such a special moment. I finally got to see my baby after 9 months! Finally the wait was over and I got to see what a little Tyler/Jackie looks like. And I gotta say, we make a cute baby ;). Tyler and I loved him instantly. It really is an amazing experience and feeling to see your baby for the first time.

6 pounds 8 ounces and 18 inches long. 

My dad was able to fly out and see Dallin on that day. And I am so glad he did! 

Shout out to my mom for being there and taking pictures! I am so glad you came early and could be there for the birth! It was a comfort to know you were there. And I am so glad you were there to take pictures or we wouldnt have these precious memories captured.