Wells is Two months old...any advice??

Hey Friends! Okay, so I'm sorry there is no picture on this post. I've been a bit tired and busy all week. My sister and I had our Christmas Open House for our company, Save the Dates (which is about to change to Paper with Purpose...but I'll write about that later) last night and tonight. It required a lot of work, but was really fun!! For those of you who don't know, we sell stationery, wedding invitations, birth announcements, and lots of baby and adult gift items. We will have a website up soon and I'll tell you more. Anyways, this is about Wells! So he is now two months and is backtracking!!! He is waking up every two hours in the middle of the night and totally wrestling out of his swaddle. He hates it!!! I mean, kicking and screaming hates it! But he wakes up so often from flailing without it. And we have read every book and tried every trick. My child is no "book child"!! He comes off the incline, hates his back, definitely will not go down without being soothed, etc. I woke up to him crying at 1,3,5 yesterday and at 5 he was wide-eyed and smiling when I picked him up. So i knew that was trouble. He was ready to play! And I was ready to cry! Anyways, he can be soothed back down so he isn't hungry. We just aren't quite sure what is going on. His naps during the day are also back to being home-bound. He only likes to nap when forced...lovely! On a good note, he is cooing and smiling more which is fun! And of course I love him to bits. Nighttimes are just getting really tough. So any advice would be much appreciated!! I've really tried everything!! I just feel like he doesn't know how to put himself to sleep so he is just as frustrated as me...poor guy! I can't wait to see what I get in return to this post and I'm really afraid of people saying..."just stick it out, it will get better!" But I really feel that God is telling me to just be still and patient and know that I'm not in control. It's funny how God can teach us things, even through an infant's sleep patterns! Thanks in advance for your thoughts!!

Lots of Pictures and Week 8 excitement!

Here you go! I've posted lots of pictures from this past week. Everyone told me that by week 8, I would start to tell a difference in Wells' behavior, his sleep patterns, and in myself. It's been true! We actually got him on a night time schedule. He now goes to bed between 6:30-6:45 and is struggling to make it to that point! He sleeps between 4-6 hours at a time, and is always up around 6:45 in the morning. We owe that to the miracle blanket, our persistance and his sound machine!! He even started sleeping in the car and in the stroller some, which is a major breakthrough! He must have learned that life really isn't more exciting than his need for sleep! He smiled a lot more this week too, which is always fun for Chris and me. I decided to show you his many facial expressions in the pictures above so that you can see what I see everyday. Some are hilarious! We also had our first church trip with Wells this morning. He seemed so proud wearing his daddy's baby outfit (although he wasn't so sure at first if you look at the the picture of him in the top left corner with his outfit on)! Chris' mom gave us some sweet outfits that chris used to wear and I have seen some of them in stores now! It's nice to know that baby styles don't change much! We were going to save it for his baby dedication which is Nov. 2, but he wouldn't have been able to wear it at that point. Even though I'm still exhausted, I feel like everyday is getting a little more routine and more exciting. I just can't believe it's already been eight weeks. Wow!

Week 7 and the Two Month Check-up

Well, Monday made week seven for Wells. Wow, time flies! And I know you want to see pictures and not just read the updates. I promise to post some later. I'll take some pictures today. Wells had his two month check-up yesterday and got his first round of shots. He was such a champ! Chris said he only cried for about two seconds (I wouldn't know because I left the room so I wouldn't have to see it or hear it)!! He's a lot tougher than me obviously. He did well all day and night too. We even had a sleep stretch from 8:00-3:00a.m.!! So exciting! I'm sure it was the shots, but I'll take it! He weighed 11 pounds 12 ounces and was in the 70%. We think he's really long, but the nurse measured him wrong so we don't know it. If her calculations were right...he shrunk!! we laughed and the doctor said she was wrong. I'm still a little worried about the brain capacity because his head was only in the 15%!! It keeps going down in the percentage category. That's okay...we love our little pea-head!! He is just perfect to us! This week was so exciting because he has started smiling and playing a lot. We hear him cooing over the monitor for long periods of time. He still looks just like Chris and still acts just like me...not wanting to miss a second of fun. Putting him down for naps and at night can be quite a task. Chris and I finally have him on a night time schedule (at least to go down) and we feel like each day gets better and better. We are really just praising God every day for him and love sharing the updates with you all! I promise pictures will come today or tomorrow!

Week Six! still not sleeping!

Hey Friends! So tomorrow, Monday September 15th, marks week six for Wells. He is getting more and more fun everyday! I received my first "real" smile this past week! I could never imagine that it would melt my heart like that! I even got a little teary! He is still pretty serious most of the time, but I know this won't last long if he really has my personality. I just hope the poor child doesn't get my laugh or he'll be ridiculed for life!! Chris is for sure that he does because he never wants to nap or go to sleep at night...still. We're at most doing 4 hour stretches on a good night. He is really afraid of missing out on some fun! He loves his bouncy seat as you can tell in the pics! Many of you have asked how Vedder, our dog, has done with him. As you can tell in the picture, he literally watches him all day with me! He is either under my feet or Wells' body at all times. It's really sweet, but 100 pounds of lab can sort of get in the way. Wells also loves his Alabama outfits. He has a different one for almost every game! Our friends know us well!! :) I had to take a picture last night of Wells and Chris in their matching outfits! And of course his cousin Max still wants to be around him all the time! He likes to be right in his face and I think Wells likes it! He usually follows him with his eyes everywhere. We are really loving every minute with him because he is already just growing so fast! He is almost 11 pounds...scary! What can I say...he likes food! God has really blessed us with this sweet angel who is really laid back and easy (besides the no sleep!). We have yet to hear an all out cry...knock on wood!! I'll send more pics next week! I'm ready to spend time with lots of you soon!

Wells is One Month Old!

We can't believe Wells is already one month old! He was a month old yesterday. It is amazing how much has happened in one month. Some days seem like they will never end, but all in all, it's gone by so quickly! He has been visited by so many friends! Chris said he's going to be just like me...very social! He doesn't want to sleep when ANYTHING is going on. I guess he's afraid he'll miss out. These pictures are not of every friend by any means, but these are the pics I got when some of you visited (sorry if I didn't take one with you!). There are also some pictures that really capture his first month...sleeping, cheering at his first alabama game with Chris and his cousin Max, seeing all his new friends, and wearing his robe before bath time (he loves bath time with his dad and vedder...yes, it is guy time!). We are braving the schedules and I'm determined to stick to it, but Wells is testing me big time. This week he decided it was way more fun to stay awake and have nap strikes as well as wake up every 2 hours to eat. I'm praying it's a growth spurt and that next week will be better. I've gotten lots of advice from friends and books, so we'll see. Hopefully my next post will say, "Wells, the perfect baby!" yeah right! Anyways, this first month has been trying, but so amazing. And it's really crazy how much you can love someone in just one month! Chris and I couldn't thank God enough for little Wells!

Are you ready for some football?!!

We are definitely ready for some Alabama football!!! Check out this precious shirt from our friends Susan and Blake Russell. He is ready! And so is mama! Everyone keeps asking me if I am going to go through withdrawals not being at this first game. It's probably the first season opener I've missed in years!!! The answer is no, because I get to watch it with Wells! Chris keeps telling him that he hasn't met the real mama until he watches an Alabama game with me! We'll see! Roll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Week 2 and 3- newborn pics and survival mode!

Before you read this, I wanted you all to see his precious newborn pictures! They'll only be online for another week or so. Go to http://www.stellaschreiber.com/ and go to client proofing and type in sheheane for the password.

Okay, so weeks two and three (he'll be three weeks monday) are together because of our crazy week! Maybe survival mode is a harsh title, but I'll fill you in on our week and you can see for yourself!! Well, we had to move in with my mom and dad on Sunday because we had to get a whole new air conditioning unit in our house and had to be out because of dust. We loved being at my parents and of course they were SUPER helpful, but moving out of our house with a two week old was quite the challenge. We felt like we packed everything but the kitchen sink. So that was stressful enough! Then on top of that, Wells didn't sleep so well at my parents. He didn't like their crib and would only sleep in his bassinet. So I had to sleep on their couch and get up LOTS when he wouldn't sleep. We did get to venture out and have a first walk in the stroller which was great! So major thanks to my parents for letting us come, but we are glad to be home because now he's doing great, sleeping tons, and happy as a lark! It's amazing how in only 2 weeks of life, he can get used to his home and his crib! We also had our first pediatric appt, this week. Wells weighed 8 lbs. 11 ouncces and was 21.5 inces long. He was in the 50% for weight, 60% for height (i laughed) and 25% for his head!! We hope that does not indicate his brain size!! Anyways everything else was pretty good. He still has sort of high jaundice levels, so we are praying those go down in the next couple of weeks. We also had my ten year reunion to go to all weekend since I had planned it all year. So with him being only 11 days old and me still in pain, we survived three events this weekend and Wells had both grandparents babysit. I was sad leaving him and in pain after an hour of each event, but I am so glad I went. It has taken me all week to recover though!! So all of this combined made it a very tiring week!! We are all doing great now and still just loving every minute with Wells! The pictures above are Wells with all his presents from my Australia family that I love and feel like are real family, Chris and Wells hanging out (they play and rest every night when chris comes home), chris and I before my reunion, and the last one is Wells with his cousin Max (my nephew) who loves him so much!!