Shower nap

We had a rough night last night.

Brady took a later than usual nap while we were out to dinner with Brian and Desiree in Orange County and he slept all the way until we got home...6:30 until 9. I knew I was in for trouble.

He finally went back down around 11pm (2.5 hours later than his normal bedtime) and proceeded to wake up every 2 hours before waking up for good just after 5:30 (2 hours earlier his than normal wake time).

Luckily Ryan woke up at 7:30 and sent me back to bed. I slept until 9, when Brady came in to eat and then he took a 1.5 hour nap with me. He needed that nap badly, but he woke up VERY grumpy. He was screaming and it seemed like he was uncomfortable. We gave him his reflux medicine and some gripe water, but nothing helped, so I dug into my 'bag of tricks' and decided to take him into the shower. It's hard to get my own routine done with him in the shower, since I'm holding him the whole time, so now I bring his bath seat in and set him in it once he's calmed down. He usually sits there quietly chewing on his hands and today was no exception...except he fell asleep doing it :)

He stayed asleep after I turned off the water and got out. I decided to leave him in there while I got dressed (don't worry, I was only 3 feet away from him and there was no water in there). He continued to sleep until I decided to grab the camera and the clicking woke him up. It was worth it though, he just looked so peaceful! He's gotta catch up on some of the sleep he missed last night, even if that means a little shower nap.

Brady at 4 months

Brady is 4 months old now!! I can't believe it. He's not my little newborn anymore :( I can't really say "he's getting so big"...because he's just not, but he is acting older and learning new things all the time. At 4 months old, Brady...

• Is getting good at reaching and grasping for things

• Is starting to put those things that he reaches for into his mouth

• Has found his feet, and just yesterday started putting THOSE in his mouth

• Is cooing and making lots of noise. He likes to hear his voice

• needs lots of attention. He won't sit and play alone for more than a few minutes without getting frustrated

• Is sleeping much better this month. We started putting some oatmeal in a bottle at night and he loves it. It's helping him sleep better AND he needs the extra calories, so it's a win/win. We're getting about 8 hour stretches right now. LOVE THAT.

• Is just figuring out how to roll over. He's done it a few times from his back to his tummy, but sometimes his arm gets caught and he can't figure out how to move it

• Is pushing himself up while laying on his tummy

• Started some solids other than oatmeal. He's had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, which he loved, and peas, which he's not a fan of

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This is unrelated, but I need to vent:

It's funny. Now that I'm at the solid food stage, I'm seeing more and more how frustrating it can be to get advice. Even if I'm LOOKING for advice (which I often AM), everyone contradicts everyone. Researchers, pediatricians, lactation consultants, seasoned mothers....no one can agree. Our pediatrician told us to do rice cereal in a bottle for Brady's reflux at TWO months. Most info online says that's too early for rice cereal and it's a choking hazard, but it's a common solution for babies with reflux. I chose not to do rice cereal that early. My big plan was no solids at all until 6 months, but I ended up starting them at 4 months because our new pediatrician told me I needed to in order to fatten our baby up... but now I feel like I'm being judged by the lactation consultant. THIS is the part of motherhood I don't like. Everyone is in your business telling you how to do things or telling you you're doing them wrong...or not telling you, but cleverly posting a facebook status minutes after you post one to say that what you're doing is wrong. :) 

Being a new mom is hard enough without other people confusing you and preaching their agenda. I understand feeling strongly about something and wanting to teach new moms what you've learned....but it's still frustrating. I'm already terrified I'm going to give my baby autism, food allergies, and a myriad of other issues...and no one can seem to agree (researchers included) on how to avoid that. So, I'm going to listen to the advice and continue researching things online, but in the end I'm just going to have to follow my own mothers intuition and do what I feel is right. I'll probably second guess myself for the next 30 years, but I guess it's all I can do. 

LA tourists - Day 2

After sleeping in and having some great homemade bagel sandwiches (thanks Rick and Arlene), we headed over to Olvera Street to show Tiersha and Josh were to get the best Taquitos, Churros, and French Dip sandwiches (a block away).

There were some cool performers out that day.

After watching the performers and walking down the little alleyway filled with spanish vendors, we stopped at Mr. Curro for my favorite - chocolate filled churros. They can also fill them with custard, carmel, or strawberry, but having tried all but strawberry, I've decided chocolate is the BEST.

They're messy, but delicious. 

Next we headed across the street to Union Station ...LA's train station that has been there since the 30's. It's beautiful and has been featured in many movies and t.v. shows. 

We ended this stop by grabbing lunch at Philippe's, home of the French Dip sandwich. It's been there forever and is ALWAYS incredibly busy. Ryan and Josh waited in line for about 20 minutes, but Ryan and I have had to wait even longer than that.

Tiersha had never had a French Dip sandwich, but she said she had high expectations after seeing the line. After trying it, she said it was delicious. 

After our time at Olvera Street, we headed over to the Staples Center to check out the stadium and LA Live, across the street. Josh is a Boston fan, NOT a Laker fan, but he wanted to see Staples Center. Nearby at the LA convention center, there was an Anime convention going on, so there were people in VERY strange costumes all over. We headed over to the convention center to get a better look at some of the crazies. People really go all out for their costumes. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures.

Brady was MUCH happier today. He loves to be outside and we even put him in the stroller without the car seat so he could look out, which he seemed to enjoy.

After Staples Center, we came home to nap and clean up before going out to Pasadena for dinner with Rick and Arlene. We went to Mi Piace, and Italian place on Colorado Blvd. that we like a lot.

It was another busy day and after 2 'tourist' days, we were EXHAUSTED.

LA tourists - Day 1

Tiersha and Josh are in CA for the summer while Josh completes and internship. He is from back east and, while he's been here with Tiersha to visit several times, he hasn't seen all of the fun LA tourist spots, so they came up for a few days and we all went out to show him around.

First up: The Getty Museum

The white balance on my camera was messed up for the first several pictures so they are really blue and look funny.

We didn't stay long because Tiersha, Brady, and I got hungry :) We stopped for a cookie (they have GOOD cookies) before deciding to head out and grab some real lunch at The Grove.

The Grove is a huge beautiful outdoor shopping mall in LA (the website actually calls it a shopping RESORT, ha!). We grabbed lunch at Woodranch Grill before wandering through the shops. Tiersha was super excited because they had an American Girl store. I think she pointed at EVERY single item and said "OH MY GOSH, isn't this so cute?!?" It was pretty funny...Ryan and Josh were over it pretty fast.

After The Grove, we drove back home to drop Brady off with Grandma and Grandpa N before heading to the Griffeth Observatory. It should be noted that Brady, who usually does well in the car, decided to exercise his lungs both times in the car that day. Absolutely inconsolable, even after eating the first time...and the second time we had to pull over to a Vons parking lot about 15 minutes from home so I could feed the kid. After 15 minutes of screaming, I couldn't take it any more and made Ryan pull over. He said he could have listened to it until we got home, but it just makes me CRAZY. The funny thing is, Brady goes from happy to screaming at the top of his lungs in 2 seconds sometimes. All is good, and then suddenly he thinks "I'M SO HUNGRY I'M GONNA DIE!!" This kid is dramatic like his mama!
I felt bad for poor Tiersha and Josh who may be thinking of starting a family in the next year or two...hope we didn't scare you away from having babies!

ANYWAY, on to the Griffeth Observatory. We wanted to go in the evening to catch the view in daylight and after the sun went down. It was busy there and we had a good 15 minute walk from the car, but it was worth it.

 Such a great view of the city.

 Ryan holding the moon :)

 Hanging out with Einstein...pulling his finger

We ended the night by grabbing some dinner at Chipotle. It was a busy but fun day. It's funny how it turned out to be a day of G. We saw The Getty, The Grove, and the Griffeth Observatory :)

Brady's 4 month stats

I don't know how we did it. I'm pretty average sized and Ryan is a large man. But DANG, our baby is TINY. I ate properly while pregnant. I delivered very close to my due date. I feed the kid every 2.5 - 3 hours...but he still isn't gaining weight very fast.

2 months ago he was 10 pounds and 22.25 inches. Today he is just over 11.5 pounds and 23.75 inches. Gaining 1.5 pounds in 2 months is not good apparently. The doctor is concerned.

While it has long been suggested that babies don't start solids until 6 months, she wants us to start some now to get him to gain weight more quickly. We have to see her again in 2 weeks for a weight check and if he still isn't gaining much, we may have to do a blood test to see if there is some health issue causing this. So today begins Mission: Fatten up Brady!

Brady also got 2 shots at today's appointment and I cried just as hard as he did. The nurse patted my knee to comfort me. It was pretty sad to see my baby squeal :(

Anyway, we're trying solids today...hope it goes well!