My boy is growing too fast!

Here he is at the doctor last Monday for his 4-Month check up...


Where he got another 4 shots plus an oral vaccine...



His poor little leggies:( (ok not so little, actually..big chunker leggies!)

He sleeps in his crib like a big boy...

He can sit in his stroller...

and his "eating chair"...


He has outgrown almost every seat he has...


(not a mow-hawk although looks pretty cute!) and along those lines, he has about 2 more pounds before we need to put him in his new car seat.

He stands up in his walker and the jumper that he was too short for at Christmas!! Now fits perfectly.


I won't post a photo but he has discovered his man bits. Every diaper change... It's an immediate grab at the lower region. He's too funny. :) such a little boy!

We attempted to lose the swaddle blanket over the weekend. No good. I think I'll leave him in it until he tells us he's done.

Also, I think there are signs of little teeth moving in. We'll see. He has had a few cranky pants moments and we used baby orajel on his gums last night and it seemed to help.

Other than that he's still my sweet baby boy that I could kiss until my lips fell off. :)

4 months

Well, a lot has happened in one month!

Merry Christmas!
Santos celebrated his very first Christmas ever! Christmas eve was spent at home. I cooked and we had the whole family over


(minus Steph and Flo, they came in a few days later). We ate and hung out and relaxed and opened a few gifts. It was perfect (other than me turning the oven off accidentally and we had to wait what seemed like 6 years to cook the chicken... LOL)

Santos got some amazing gifts!


Santa stopped by:
He's a little too short still for this Einstein jumper, but he seems to like it nonetheless. We just shove his changing pad under to give him that extra couple of inches.
These blocks are apparently very tasty. He loves to chew on them. Especially the red one. It has what Tio Flo calls "baby paper" in it. It makes the crinkle sound ;-)
This is called an Octoplush. He loves it! He's starting to laugh at the music it plays when you squish his head. It also says the colors (in 3 different languages) when you squish his hands. Yes, a smarty multilingual toy! :)
This is made by Taggis. Tio Flo and Tia Steph gave him this one. You pull a string and it vibrates and if you push the red dot on his head it makes the beep beep noise. He LOVES to chew on this one. The wheels also have that magical baby paper. So cute.
Granny and grandpa Richko gave him his highchair, he got a lot of clothes, and a few other bits and pieces. He told me he was very thankful and appreciated it all. Such a well mannered little boy!

He met his cousin Carlos for the first time:
Carlos was Santos' stand-in gift opener. I don't think I've ever seen paper fly off of gifts faster. So cute.

The next day we went to breakfast with my mom and dad and Beckala and Natala. :-) (Nate.) When they left to go home, I packed up the baby and went to nani and tata's house where we had christmas dinner with Simone, Carlos, and Frank. It was SOOO YUMMY. It was a Mexican feast.

We had a great night :-) we played with baby...

Ate pop rocks and storm trooper guys...

Upset the baby with a Santa hat... (LOL)

Roasted marshmallows (and ate SO much sugar)...

Made fun pictures in the back yard with Carlitos....

Happy Birthday!

The next we stopped by a friend of mine's granddaughter's first birthday party. It was amazing to see how he interacted with the bigger kids. I say bigger... but I mean solely in age, not size. He was almost the same size as them. LOL He chatted away with them just the same though. Baby language is awesome to listen to.
Then we went back to nani and tata's because Flo and Stephie arrived! We had a little birthday celebration for Gabe because that was the only day that the whole family was in one place at the same time.



Happy New Years!

We had a great New Years eve with papito :-) It was very quiet and we didn't leave the house. It was perfect. Mama baked all day for the shower, and then Sangria for mama and daddy after the boy went to sleepies.


Happy Shower!

Steph and Flo had their Florida shower on the 1st. It was a lot of fun :-) I really enjoyed spending the holiday with them and I cannot wait to meet their little girl!! I know they're going to be amazing parents.


Ok I think that's about it for the holiday catch up and all that... Now for Santos' update:

At 4 Months, Santos...

Had his first time eating solids (rice cereal). He loved it. It was the most adorable thing ever. slurping off that mini spoon... ugh, priceless...

Weighs 19 pounds, measures 26.5 inches and is in the 97th-100+ percentile... yes, big boy! The nurse said he had the stats of a 9-month old.

Giggles and laughs responding to you.

Loves to snuggle in bed with you for as long as you'll let him.

Does not fit in his bumbo seat any more. Legs are just too chunky. I can squish him in there, but it's too hard to get him back out.

Is learning how to read already. Yes, I know. He's only 4 months old... but it can't hurt and I love doing "activities" with him throughout the day... So I purchased "your baby can read" and we've been doing it together for a little over a week now. He seems to really enjoy it.

Is still nursing every 2-3 hours. (although his doctor wants us to get him to 4 hours... I don't see that happening soon, but we'll give it a shot!)

Still loves to be swaddled. I said that at his appointment today and the doctor looked at me like I had 3 heads and said "he still lets you swaddle him?!?" Unfortunately, we need to start weening him at this point. She said it'll be too hard to stop later. :(

Sits up all on his own. For a little... then its nnnneeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrrrumph. He gets lazy and flops over.

Has a tickle spot! I found it last night!! It was toooooo funny. He got all squirmy and tried to get away from me.

Rubs his feet together just like his mama does.

Grabs, reaches, and holds things.

Still hasn't rolled over.

Is losing his hair!!

likes tv... way too much. He'll stare at it when it's off. I'm assuming trying to figure out the trick to make it come alive.

wears 9-12 month clothing.

already needs a new car seat.

is the best thing that ever happened to us.


Mama - is tired from waking up at 3:30 again. I asked about this today. She said it was probably a growth spurt. He's just one big growth spurt. LOL Other than that, I'm fantastic. I love my little boy more than words can describe.

Here are all the photos from December (click the photo):

Three months. Twelve weeks. Eighty-four days.

<--3 days


3 months-->






At THREE MONTHS Santos:

Sleeps through the night - doesn’t really have a specific bedtime but can go as early as 8:30 and as late as midnight, and wakes up between 6:30-8 for feeding and then I can get him to sleep another 2 hours or so.

Wears size 2 diapers.

LOVES to be swaddled to go night night. (otherwise he would flail his arms and wake himself up by smacking himself in the face, or worse… scratching the bajesus out of his face - and his nails grow back within an hour it seems.)

Is just starting to use his bumbo seat and his walker… although he’s not walking in his walker, he just likes to stand up like a big boy.

Holds his head up.

Is starting to sit up all by himself. He was always good about lifting his head up off your shoulder (since birth!) but now he’s using his tummy muscles to really pull himself upright (in the bath tub especially)

Is just ok with tummy time. If he’s in the mood he’s ok with it, if not, oh no…. and other times, he just goes right to sleep.

Speaks in his own language. I swear he thinks he’s holding a whole conversation with you, his toys, himself in the mirror… it’s really adorable.

Responds. He LOVES playtime. He is the smileyest baby ever. I can usually get a smile out of him at any time, even right when he wakes up. The only times he ever gets upset is when he’s hungry (which is 97.2% of his cries. He’s always hungry), gassy, or overtired. He doesn’t really like to nap.

Has discovered his hands. Now, he spits out his pacifier (soother , or chupi - never a paci or a binkie) because he’d rather chew or suck loudly on his hands. He grabs things too. Hair, burp cloths, blankets, teether toys. He actually doesn’t depend on his soother at all. He never looks for it, but we use it to keep him comfy. Especially when he’s nursing just our of comfort… It has saved my poor boobs more than a few times.

Weighs approximately 16-17 pounds and wears clothing anywhere from 3 to 9-month-sized clothing. He is my little chunker.

Likes socks. Hates shoes.


Eats (nurses so I have no real idea of how many ounces, but between 15-20 minutes each time) every 1-3 hours, but more like 1 hour 45 minutes on the dot most times. LOL I can tell when he’s going through growth spurts because its every hour all day for about 3 days straight.

Loves to get out and be in his car seat. Loves the car and loves to take walks.

Is awesome at restaurants! This photo is from when we went out to celebrate Nani's birthday last weekend!

Now enjoys his bath time. In the beginning, he would hate it because he didn’t like the cold, but now, he splashes with his feet and talks to himself in the mirror. He also loves to be naked.


LOVES to be read to. Especially the books that are touchy feely. (like different textures) He has a pretty good attention span right now.

Spits up... a LOT.


Just started watching tv. Just a little. Sponge Bob seems to be good, and anything with bright colors. I limit tv time though, I like our play time and I don’t want him to become a tv zombie. It sure does help when I need to get a few loads of laundry done though. LOL


Mommy at 3 months:

I fit into all of my old clothes, but don’t like to wear my dresses anymore. It makes me miss my Preggo tummy too much.

I have lost all of my pregnancy weight plus a little; however, I eat like I’ve been starved for a week every 2 hours or so.

I no longer wake up at 3 or 4am because my boobs are incredibly painful from the milk he used to be drinking at that time.

Nursing is second nature to both of us now. The beginning not so much. No one could ever prepare you for just how much it hurt. I remember the days when his spit up had blood in it because of me. I was bleeding! And not little amounts. Funny story: I actually cried when the remote hit me in the boob. Funny now, not then. Thank GOD those days are long behind us and we have a nice little rhythm going between us.

Still have my stretch marks. Big time. But I consider them my badges of honor and they don’t bug me at all.

Still have not resumed my monthly “gift” from nature. I think it’s because I’m breastfeeding.

I laugh and smile daily. Thank you my sweet baby boy. You’ve changed our lives so much, and all for the better.

Daddy at 3 months:

“I love him” not much of a talker, my husband….


What else:

Will we have more? Absolutely! We definitely want to give him his time though and really enjoy all the milestones so we won’t be trying for a little though.

What are we looking forward to? For the first time in years, Christmas. I can’t wait to bring Santa back to life!! Play dates with Ella and Grant (baby Folgate). DISNEY… but that’s much, much down the road. Disney will be fun again because we’ll get to experience it through him! Ok, ok… I’m getting way ahead of myself.

Bottom line: We are so very happy . We love our little Santos so much it’s incredible.

10 weeks!

It's getting harder and harder to keep on time with this blog! I'm doing my best though. Usually during the time I go to write, monkey wants to play. Then I'm exhausted. Lol


How old is baby? 2 and a half months!!!!

Weight? Dunno. Need to get on the wii.

Sleep? He's back to waking up at 3-4 to eat. Hope he starts sleeping through again soon. Mommy is so tired!

Best moment this week: siting outside at a cafe eating breakfast with my hubby and baby boy :) life is good. (the waitress came over and when she heard how old he is she said "wow he doesn't miss a meal does he!?"



Milestones: he's starting to get really grabby :)

Times pediatrician called? None. Thank god.

Mama and daddy: Eh. Doing ok. Just tired.

Weekly photo:

Bobo

Munchkin snuggling with his new friend bobo. We made him. It was my first project to learn how to sew. Gee helped a lot. :) his name is bobo because I messed up his other wing. Lol

9 weeks!

How old is baby? 9 weeks

Weight? 14 pounds 14 ounces

Height? 24.5 inches

Sleep? Like a log :) (mama is a different story)

Number of diapers changed? Lost count. I haven't really been using my app as much anymore.

Best moment this week: Becky came to visit :) although he was still a little snotty, he was happy to see her! Wouldn't stop talking to her and smiling :) too cute.



Milestones: size 2 diapers

Times pediatrician called? We saw the doc on Monday for his 2- month check up. She said he looks like a healthy 4-month old. He's going to be tall!! The little bumps all over his cheeks and chest are from the wash we use at bath time. We switched him over to a fragrance free wash. It's already better.

Mama and daddy: mommy needs a massage and a few hours alone with a good book... Maybe a hot tub?

Looking forward to? Nothing really scheduled. Maybe I'll get a chance to use my new sewing machine to make something for my baby boy??!!

Weekly photo:

8 weeks!!

How old is baby? 8 weeks!!

Weight? 14 pounds 11 ounces

Height? not sure

Development:
By now, many babies are able to swipe at objects with their hands and kick at them with their feet.

A lot of things are changing for your baby; this may make her fussy for a week or two and in need of lots of comfort.

As a newborn, your baby grabbed instinctively. Now he’s losing that reflex - and is starting to be able to hold things placed in his (now mostly open!) hands.

Is that a fact? Your infant has twice as much light, REM sleep as you do.


Sleep? Still good! He did start waking up again to eat but I think that’s because he’s sick.

Number of Diapers Changed? 579

Best Moment This Week: Being with him and Ella together for Halloween.

Milestones: He’s growing out of his size one diapers. Well, technically he already has… we’re just trying to use them up. His first holiday. His first virus! My poor baby.

Number of Times the Pediatrician was called? once. Today - we went to the doctor because he hasn’t stopped crying (inconsolable) since we got home. Turns out he has a virus. Stomatitis. It should clear up in a few days but until then, he’s miserable.

Mama and Daddy? I’m hanging in. It’s been a rough couple of days. I have barely been able to eat because I’m trying to get him to stop crying. Continually rocking him and nursing him.

Weekly Photo:

Their first meeting!!

after his bath