It's been a while...

So it's been a while since our last post, things have just been a little hectic. I thought I'd sneak in a post here before things get even more hectic!

Sebastian is growing like a week and is just under 11 lbs. We need to get out paper here at home and measure his length, but it wouldn't surprise us if he is up to 23 inches in length with how he's been growing. He has been doing great, just has some tummy or GI issies that we are going to a specialist in the next week or so to have them figure out. We'll update on that once we know more.

In the next week or so Sebastian will have a lot of firsts. This weekend is my father's 60th birthday so we are having some people over for dinner, Sebastian's first dinner party. Then on Saturday morning we are loading up the car and driving with my parents down to the bay area to see family. Sebastian's first road trip. Next week, we pack up again, but this time we fly to Alberquerque to Mark's cousin Amber's wedding - Sebastian's first flight and hotel stay. Cross your fingers that all goes well!

Anyways, a week ago we had Sebastian's 3 month pictures and here are some of my favorites.

The serious thinker

Watch out here I come

Go Giants!

Family & Mother's Day

We had Grandpa Jim &Grandma Cate in town over Mother's Day weekend. It was Grandma Cate's first time on a plane in 14 years and we are so proud that she made it through all of her flights! It was not easy for her, but she had her grandson waiting for her at he airport when she arrived! Here is the proof that she made it :-)

On Mother's Day we got together with my family and had some time to lounge around at home - which means that Sebastian was held by Grabdma or Grandpa all weekend long and only put down at night to sleep. I have spent the last week de-programming him from being held 24/7, but it was worth it to be able to have themn out here. Here are some more pics from the weekend...

Baby Kayla

Grandma Cate and my cousin Kate's son, Wyitt

  

The three little ones, Wyitt, Kayla & Sebastian

Me and my little boy :-)

Sebastian trying to crawl off of the boppy but showing great head control!

Doctor Update

We went to the doctor today for Sebastian's 2 month appointment. He is really growing! He has actually made it onto the percentile charts now which is much better than our 2 week appointment (which was actually at 4 weeks old). He is in the 2nd percentile for height & weight, but if they corrected it to his actual due date (4/10) he is in the 55th percentile. He is now 8 lbs 12 oz (we were all hoping he just hit the 8 lb mark, so he beat all of our expectations) and is 20.5 inches long. He gained almost 3 lbs in the 4 weeks since his last visit.

His digestive system issues are just due to his prematurity and will get better as he gets older. Mark and I just have to touch it out until then, but they do want me to stay off of dairy and soy for a while longer. But I can have chocolate, strawberries, eggs and nut products now!

We also got the green light to let him sleep through the night (or however long he will sleep) and to be able to take him to public places. Mark and I are excited to be able to go back to church and to not have to tag team errands anymore since we couldn't bring him into stores. Perfect timing for Grandma Cate and Grandpa Jim to come into town on Saturday to visit!

Here is a little picture comparison of how he has grown in the weeks that he has been home:

3 1/2 weeks old

8 1/2 weeks old

Sebastian is 2 Months Old!!

Where does the time go? Sebastian is two months old today and has been home for almost 6 weeks! The time certainly flies by!! We go in for his 2 month appointment tomorrow morning (boo to shots!). Sebastian is doing good for the most part but over the last week and half has developed some sort of complication. The doctor isn't sure if it something to do with his digestive system possibly not developing as fast as the rest of him, a food allergy, reflux, extreme gas, or just an immature digestive system that he will grow out of. Unfortunately, preemies are more susceptible to all of them. To help diagnose whatever is going on the doctor had me eliminate dairy (already eliminated this over Easter weekend), soy products, nut products, strawberries, chocolate, bell peppers, and eggs from my diet since the are common food allergies. If they determine that it is a food allergy they will have a schedule that I follow to re-introduce the foods in order to figure out what food allergy it is. So, that's what we have been up to... trying every trick we know to soothe him and ease some of the pain. Mark and I are probably more traumatized than he is.

When we doesn't have those issues going on he is a happy baby and progressing as expected on the developmental milestones. He is developing great head control as well. He is up to 21+ inches and probably 8+ pounds. We will find out tomorrow morning.

So, what else has been going on? Here is a little recap:

Over the weekend we got together with our friends, Heather & Jason, and their two kids, Wyatt and Cammie. It was great to get together with them and we will be having many more summer BBQs with them. They are expecting another little boy in June so Sebastian will have another playmate!

Back in January, we found a daycare provider for when I return to work in August. Unfortunately, in March, she fell ill and is no longer able to provide day care. So, we returned to our search. We are happy to say that last Friday, we found a new in-home daycare (and preschool) that we like and they even had an infant spot available (their first new opening in 3 years). Luckily she is even closer to our house than our original provider and is comparable in cost. We are very lucky on that count!!

Mark has been focused on getting everything ready to break ground soon on our backyard. We are putting in an expansive covered patio and full landscaping so Mark has been working with our good friend Jarrod to get everything going. This week we will be signing all of the contracts, putting down the deposits, and getting the permit process started. We should be able to break ground in 2-3 weeks!! Woohoo!

So, that's about it for us. We have just been enjoying the sunshine and BBQing for dinner most evenings. We are going to the Daughtry concert this Friday and are excited to have Mark's parents coming into town this weekend from Iowa to visit Sebastian (cuz we know the real reason isn't to see us :-P).

Until next time, here are some pics of Sebastian enjoying the mobile on his pack'n'play.

Sebatian Update

It has been a week and a half since I posted the latest update, so I figured I was a little overdue. It has been a busy couple of weeks for us with family coming into town. It was great to see everyone though and to have everyone meet Sebastian. Carl, Jaime & Allan came up from Vegas two weeks ago, and Mark's parents (Ed & Colleen) came up from Texas this past weekend. Here are some of the pictures:

Ed, Colleen & Sebastian

Ed, Mark & Sebastian

"Mimi" & Sebastian

Sebastian in a hat that Mimi made for him

Sebastian is now over 7 pounds and hit 21 inches long. About the size he would have been if he had been born on time rather than 6 weeks early. As of today he is 7 weeks old and is smiling a lot, following sounds and really beginning to see his surroundings (he gets distracted quite a bit). He loves bath time and is generally an easy baby. He usually only gets fissy when it is time to eat or if he is working on a present in his diaper for us. The next couple of weeks will be quiet ones for us. Luckily we don't have too much going on until Mark's parents (Jim & Cathy) come into town for Mother's Day Weekend.

Sebastian's First Family Gathering

On Saturday my family got together to celebrate Brittany & Zach's birthdays. We had a great time and were able to get a pic of all of the little ones in the family. We were lucky to have Carl & Jaime up for the weekend, so we were able to get Allan in the pics as well. Sebastian did great, sleeping through most of the day and unfazed while he was awake, just looking around at everything. Here are the pics of all of the kids:

Allan (2 1/2 years), Wyitt (3 Months), Kayla (6 weeks) & Sebastian (5 weeks)

Wyitt, Kayla & Sebastian

All the latest...

Never have we been as fascinated with a baby's pooping & farting as we have been over the past week. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Sebastian is a preemie and that not all of his systems are fully developed yet. That would definitely go for his digestive system as he tries to figure out all of the different feelings with pooping and gas. Mark has been calling him Sir Farts-a-lot lately. He is started to get better and get the hang of it and is about 90% back to his normal easy going self. We had a couple of rough days, but so far, it seems as if we have turned the corner and he is getting better.

Today, Sebastian got to play with his cousin Kayla when Amber came over to visit for the afternoon. The little ones were great and were talking up a storm to each other which gave myself and Amber a chance to catch up and talk all afternoon. The weather finally cooperated and we were able to take the kids out for their first rides in their strollers. It was beautiful outside!

Here are some recent pictures of Sebastian and his activities:

Daddy & Sebastian taking a nap while I was out shopping

One of his Easter pics

It was a rough day so you will have to excise the lack of make-up and energy...

Going for his first walk in his stroller...

Sebastian & Kayla