Happy Thanksgiving!

Our new family at our first Thanksgiving dinner.


Jaxon Watching the Dancing Cranberries.


Jaxon's "My First Thanksgiving" Bib.


Jaxon's Thanksgiving Outfit. "Gobble Gobble!"

Wordless Wednesday #3: New Toys

Baby Einstein Musical Motion Activity Jumper






Jittery Jungle Pals

Weight Update: 15 Weeks

While we were at the pediatrician appointment today I asked her to weigh him just out of curiosity. Jaxon weighed in at 14 pounds 2 ounces. He gained another 18 ounces in 3 weeks. He is such an eater! By his 4 month well-baby appointment he could be 15 or more pounds. Yikes! I guess feeding on demand has caught him up (despite the reflux and spitting up) from being born so small and early. I am even more curious to see how long he is at the 4 month appointment as he fits perfectly length wise in his 6 month clothes right now (though he is too thin for them). I will update when we go on December 13th. :)

Eczema Dilemma

Jaxon has had a rash on his left cheek for about a month now. His pediatrician originally thought it was a drool rash at his 3 month well-baby check up due to the VAST amounts of drool he was oozing (see previous Spit Posts for evidence).

Over the last week however, my little guy's cheek has progressively gotten worse to the point where it has cracked and is bleeding a little. Also I started to notice more rash areas today on his chest and in his diaper area (places his drool aren't getting to). I don't want it to get to that level on his other body parts and I am obviously concerned about the intensity of his cheek since now it seems to be itching because Jaxon keeps rubbing his hand over it. I thought maybe it is eczema so today I called my pediatrician for an appointment and she was able to get us in.

After examining his cheek and other areas she decided it wasn't a drool rash and probably was a form of eczema or other rash possibly brought on by food allergies in my diet. I am going to try eliminating nuts and peanut butter from my diet to see if it helps. He was also prescribed a cortisone cream with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial ingredients. We will try that for ten days and eliminating foods from my diet and see if it helps.

I wonder where he gets this sensitive skin from (tongue in cheek)? His daddy had something similar on his arms a couple of years ago. We will just have to watch Jaxon carefully so his cheek doesn't get worse or infected.

My Little Panda Baby

Today Jaxon was dressed in his cute new panda outfit. It had a little hat, bib, and socks all with pandas on them. He looked so adorable. My little panda bear.

Visiting with Grandma Cindy

Very cute pics of Jax with Grandma Cindy.

We are Elves!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Check Out My New BabyLegs...I'll Check Out These Feet Things

Jaxon tried on his brand new BabyLegs today. He was super cute. I just love them. I will definitely be getting more of them.



During our improptu photo shoot (he was too cute to resist) he finally got hold of his feet. He had been pulling his legs up for about a week now but never really noticed his feet. All of a sudden today he became aware of them and during diaper changes is trying to grab hold of them constantly. It makes changing his diaper a little tricky...trying not to get poopy on him.

They Grow Up So Fast...

Today I packed up the last of Jaxon's newborn clothes and most of his 0-3 months clothes. All of these were the clothes that I washed and had ready prior to him being born. It was a little sad to do but it also shows that he growing and is healthy. He is just too long for most of the 3 month clothes so we have moved him into his 3-6 month clothes. All of those are of course too baggy but he will grow into those soon enough the way he eats. I can't believe it has been almost 15 weeks since he came home to us and none of these clothes came close to fitting his long, skinny body. I think this will continue to be the trend for him...outgrowing the length of clothes before he has a chance to fill them in.

At least now I won't go in and find him in his crib with his feet free of his feety pajamas because he kicked his legs and undid the snaps. For now...

Go Razorbacks!

While mommy is a Husky (University of Washington) and daddy is a Cougar (Washington State University), the Storms clan are DIE HARD Razorbacks (University of Arkansas). Grandma and Grandpa brought back a Razorback outfit (size 6 months!!!) for Jaxon from Arkansas. Now he is truly a Storms.

Excuse the drool pool on his shoulder. It is unavoidable at this point. :)

Wordless Wednesday #2: I Got It From My Momma!

Jax's newly found pout face. So cute!

Silence is Golden...Or Is It?

Until you are a parent you can't really understand the paranoia associated with SIDS and your baby's sleeping. I think of Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment" where she thinks her daughter isn't breathing and pinches her to see if she is alive thereby waking the baby up. So funny because it is so true. Many a time I have put my hand on Jax's chest to see if it is going up and down because I couldn't tell by looking at him that he was alive and breathing. Babies breathe so shallowly and barely move at all that it is no wonder we are worried. Crib Death or SIDS has frightened parents for as long as we have had the written word or even hieroglyphics. Too bad the Egyptians didn't have this handy device.

We recently received and installed the Angelcare Movement Sensor into Jax's crib (thanks Grandma Shirley). I had been glued to his video monitor and had been doing the paranoid parent SIDS check every once and awhile if I couldn't see him moving on the monitor. It is so funny to be a parent as there are many ironies involved. All I want is for Jaxon to sleep and to sleep soundly (he is restless a lot of the time--thrashing about like a crazy person in his sleep) yet whenever he finally does so it sends Drew and I into a slight panic. Is he still breathing? Why isn't he moving? Should we check on him? Slowly and quietly we creep into his room to put our hand on his chest taking the chance that he might wake up with us doing so. It isn't only us...I see his grandparents doing this too.

Hence the new gadget. It is pretty cool I must say so myself. Giving parents a little more comfort. Basically it is a sensor pad put under the crib mattress. It can feel his slightest movement...even his breathing. If he stops moving for 20 seconds it sounds an alarm on our hand held monitors and in Jax's room to startle him into breathing again. It is mainly for baby sleep apnea not technically for SIDS but it still would alarm us to his ceasing to breathe in general for any reason. I already feel myself relaxing in many ways with this handy new invention monitoring my baby's every breath.

There is one part that Drew and I both agree bothers us. You can set the hand held monitor to tick every time he moves or breathes. I of course set ours to do this as I want to be sure the monitor is working. So basically we hear a tick every 3 seconds or so as he breathes in and out. It pretty much fades into the background and you don't notice it after 5 minutes or so. That is unless it doesn't tick for a long period. Every once and awhile the tick takes 5-10 seconds, which drives both of us nuts. It is the longest wait when that happens...waiting for Jaxon to take his next breath. I know that babies have irregular breathing patterns for the first few months of life but still it is nerve wracking to wait for that next tick sometimes. But then it happens and we can stop holding our breath in anticipation for Jaxon's next breath.

All in all I love the new monitor. Peace of mind comes in handy little contraptions. We have had the alarm go off only one time so far. Hard to say if it was a false alarm or if Jaxon really didn't move or breathe for 20 seconds. Either way the alarm went off for a short 3-4 seconds until it felt him move again. By then both Drew and I were already in his room looking into his crib at a sleeping little baby. Maybe the monitor startled him enough to take a breath or maybe it was a false alarm and he was fine the whole time. In the end I would take a thousand false alarms to the other option of him not breathing.

Summary Saturday: "Wonder Weeks"

I thought I would share summaries of great parenting books that I am currently reading with a little of my commentary/criticism on them. Saturdays sounding like a good day, not only because they start with an s (I like to alliterate) but also because when I go back to work the weekends will be easier to do this blog entry. Many of my friends ask about my readings so what better way to give a thorough explanation than a blog summary of the books I am reading? :)

For my first book I want to share my current favorite book "Wonder Weeks" by Hetty Vanderijt and Frans Plooij.



Book Summary: In "The Wonder Weeks", you'll discover the specific dates during their first 14 months when all babies take eight major developmental leaps. And you'll learn how to help your baby through the eight great "fussy phases" that mark these leaps within a week or two. Wonder week by wonder week, you'll see how your baby's mind is developing. Now you will know which games and toys are best for your baby during each key week and how to encourage each leap forward. Calendars, charts, and checklists help you track your baby's progress--and finally make sense of his fussy behavior.

The Wonder Weeks (the number indicates the age of the baby) and their focus:

Wonder Week 5: The World of Changing Sensations
Wonder Week 8: The World of Patterns
Wonder Week 12: The World of Smooth Transitions
Wonder Week 19: The World of Events
Wonder Week 26: The World of Relationships
Wonder Week 37: The World of Categories
Wonder Week 46: The World of Sequences
Wonder Week 55: The World of Programs

Click on chart to make larger.

In each "wonder week" babies become more aware of the world around them in a specific way. The week or two before this realization can be difficult for the baby as their nervous system is thrown off balance by the overload of new information. These are called "fussy or stormy weeks" where babies cry and cling and they can be very cranky. These are telltale signs that babies are growing mentally. Once these mental leaps are accomplished babies have "wonder weeks" where they want to explore their new found world. This occurs eight times in the first 14 months. These authors documented this in babies from around the world and found that all babies have similar behaviors at similar times give or take a week or two. The variation, they say, occurs because these phases are based on conception date rather than birth date. Therefore a baby who was 2 weeks late will experience these weeks 2 weeks earlier than a 40 week full term baby. On the other end, babies born early will probably experience their wonder weeks later based on the amount they were early. I found this all very interesting since Jaxon was 2 weeks early but only seems to be about a week late if that.

In general from week to week babies needs will change based on where they are in the wonder weeks. In a fussy phase a baby will need to cling to mommy. During a transition week the baby will need to play and learn new skills with mommy. And during a sunny or wonder week the baby will often need to play on his own.

My Thoughts:I just love this book. I thought I was going crazy as Jax was changing from week to week and I never knew what to expect from him in terms of mood or his needs from me. It does make the fussy phases a little bit more tolerable knowing that their is a purpose to them and that they will end sooner rather than later. There were points in time where I thought I was messing him up somehow and that I had somehow lost my happy baby and was going to have to carry him around for the rest of his babyhood. But no sooner had one fussy phase started it was just as quickly over and he was once again wanting to play and be without me some of the time. Once I read this book I was better able to handle the difficult phases and not only that, I am now able to help Jax through them. The tips and ideas in the book are helpful. The charts help me track where he is so I can know what to expect and see where he is developmentally. Finally I know that I am contributing to his mental development by doing appropriate activities with him while he is trying to figure certain phases out rather than just doing random things with him. I have to say this is one of the best books I have ever bought in regards to practical and useful parenting information. I will keep it with me throughout his first year and read each about each week as it happens. I highly recommend it. I know most of the parents I know are looking for their babies physical milestones such as rolling over and crawling and are helping them develop the muscles and strength to accomplish these tasks through tummy time and other activities. I think equally as important is our babies' mental milestones and how we help them make sense of this world. But I am a little biased being a teacher and all. :)

Wordless Wednesday #1: I Love Daddy!

So I am stealing this idea from my online buddy Kristen. On Wednesdays I will post just a picture or pictures. I think the thought is that a picture is worth a thousand words. So the pictures will speak for themselves. Cute idea! Thanks Kristen.

Our first Wordless Wednesday picture.

Who does your hair?

Due to Jaxon constantly looking around and moving while laying down, he has worn a bald spot in a ring around his head (known as the axis of rotation). His newborn hair has been slowly been falling out anyway but he is accelerating this patch with his activeness and curiosity. The pediatrician says it happens to active babies who are born with a lot of hair and that all his hair, including this bald ring, will grow back when he starts sitting up and becomes mobile. Then we will have new things to worry about. :)

Curiosity killed the cat but apparently it makes my baby go bald with flair.

Visitors for Jaxon

After vacationing in Arkansas for two weeks, Grandma & Grandpa Storms and Auntie Shannon visited Jaxon. They couldn't believe how much he had grown and changed in those two weeks. He was happy to see them. :)

A Prescription for a Level Head

Jaxon's chiropractor, who we are seeing about his slightly lopsided head, prescribed more tummy time for him to help relieve the pressure on his fontanels because he favors one side and to get him to stretch his neck muscles. This is no easy task as Jax likes to immediately roll over when placed on his tummy. I have been putting him back on his tummy after each time he rolls until he gets so frustrated that we stop. The only thing that seems to keep him on his tummy is if I lay on my tummy in front of him so our faces are at the same level. It seems to distract him for a minute or two. Hopefully this enough to make an effect.

Daddy and Jax Play Time

Drew and Jaxon were doing a little bonding the other day so I decided to take a couple of pictures and of course Drew gets all silly.


Drew demonstrating the football hold with the Heisman Pose. :)


Flying baby.

My guys are so cute!

Developmental Milestone: Batting and Grasping

Jaxon has been perfecting the art of batting and grasping for things this past week. He has been randomly batting at objects for weeks but this week he began to deliberately hit at items placed over or in front of him. At the same time he also began grasping objects as well. He has always been able to hold items if you placed them in his hands (as most newborns can) but now he can reach out and grab them on his own. All of this has progressed quickly since he discovered his hands. They are his new favorite toy.

He has a musical bug that I can set to play music only when he hits it. Yesterday was the first day that he began to realize that if he hit the bug the music would play. This not only works on his batting skills for motor development but also his mental development as he begins to understand cause and effect relationships. It is so interesting to watch his brain grow and learn along with his little body.


Grabbing his caterpillar.


Hitting stuff is fun!

Spit Happens!

OK...so I know I shared Jaxon's spit bubbles but I should have waited because he has taken it to the next level. Those first pictures are nothing compared to what he can do now. He has MASSIVE amounts of spit and drool. His bubble blowing is becoming an art form. This is the amusing or funny part of teething.










These are too funny not to share. Yuck!

Wonder Weeks, Teething, or Growth Spurt???

Or maybe it is all three. Whatever it is my little guy is battling through some major development. My happy little guy, while still there for short periods after he wakes up from naps and nighttime sleep, is increasingly becoming more fussy and upset. This has been going on for about a week now and it is baffling as a parent to watch. You question everything that he is doing and look for symptoms of a larger issue. What is making him so unhappy? My little champ has these moments when he is crying in what seems like pain where he tries to laugh or smile as I try to distract him but then something brings back the tears and he is inconsolable. It is heartbreaking to watch.

Last night was a rough night for us. Jaxon had been making progress in his sleep at night. He was sleeping in his crib for 4-6 hour stretches with only one feed in between 10-12 hours of sleep and the during the feed he remained calm and went right back to sleep. Then last night happened. My little boy was up and down several times last night and was crying almost the entire time.

There are several things that could be going on. Here is what they "could" be:

Teething: Both his pediatrician and I think he is beginning to teeth. He has the excessive drool, the rash on his face, the extra poopy diapers, the pulling at his cheeks and ears, the fussiness, and now we can add night wakings. He is, however, only 3 months old but it can happen this early...God help us. I cut my first tooth at 4 months so it isn't out of the question.

Wonder Weeks: Just like physical milestones such as sitting up, crawling, and walking babies go through mental leaps during certain weeks as they acquire new cognitive thinking processes and mental skills. During these weeks where large mental jumps and perceptions in the world around them are realized babies can become more clingy, cry more often, and be more cranky as their mind adjusts to this new development and the new overload of sensory information they are now more aware of. There are 10 of these in the first year of life. One is at or around 12 weeks.

3 Month Growth Spurt: Babies go through phases where they eat more often as they signal the mother's body that they require more milk and they approach another physical increase in size. They occur at predictable times including but not limited to 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. Jax could be going through his 3 month growth spurt. The fussiness is actually hunger cries as they need to eat more often because they are getting bigger and they need more food to satisfy their hunger but it takes mom a few days to increase production of milk to match the demand by baby. Eating more often lets the mom's body know their is an increase in milk needed.

Anyway...I am playing Sherlock Holmes (as most parents probably do) in trying to figure out how best to soothe my little guy right now. The trouble is that I don't know for sure what is actually causing him to be distressed so I am trying to do multiple strategies that cover any possibility.

As I said above...it could be all three at once. Yikes!

I will keep you posted on what I figure out. If I ever do...

A Historic Day in Our Country!

I just wanted to post in this day to remember it for Jaxon! Hopefully it is historic because we elected the first African-American president but just as important in terms of history is if the first woman vice-president is elected (though I don't agree with this particular woman). Drew and I voted over a week ago by absentee ballot but it is still so exciting today to see the large turnout of voters. It makes me hopeful that this very LONG 8 years is over and will not continue for 4 more years with a McCain/Palin administration. I of course voted for Obama/Biden.



Jax and I will be spending the evening watching CNN to see the results as they come in from the East Coast around 4:00 our time (PST) and will stay there until we know the results of this election. Don't you just love John King and his touchscreen election board? I could watch him all day long...oh wait I am. :)



Don't forget to VOTE!


Baby Got Barack!

12 Weeks/3 Month Update

Yes, Jax is 12 weeks old today. What a crazy 12 weeks it has been but I love being his mommy everyday. He is my heart living outside of my body (I read that somewhere).

We took Jaxon in this morning for his vaccination only appointment. He received two shots--Pc and HIB--one in each thigh according to the alternative vaccine schedule we are following (see Too Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate post in October). Poor little guy took it like a champ this time. He cried for a couple of minutes and then was back to smiling again with daddy. We got into the car and he fell asleep on the way home. He has been asleep now for almost 2 hours (a long time for Jax) and is still going. The vaccinations can make them sleepy or fussy...looks like this round made him sleepy. We head back again next month for his 4 month well-baby check up where he will receive his second dose of DTaP.

We weighed him real quick because I swear he is getting so heavy. Yep...he weighs 13 pounds now. He has doubled his weight since birth. So he has gained a pound and a half in 3 weeks (so half a pound a week) so it has slowed a little (he was gaining a pound a week originally) but still he is gaining steadily.

She also looked at his rash on his left cheek. She thinks it is from his excessive drooling. She also thinks he is teething. Yikes! I thought this might be what has been making him a little fussy but thought it was little early. My mom says that I got my first teeth at 4 months so maybe he is taking after me. Anyway...we will be trying to keep his face dry (an almost impossible task with the amount of drool he is making right now) and put some natural ointment on it when it is clean. Since he is so young normal teething techniques don't work as well since he doesn't have the hand coordination to hold something in his mouth and he can't chew on stuff. We will just have to help him which is what we have been doing...holding stuff for him to chew on. She doesn't expect a tooth to appear any time soon...maybe in a month or two but she says the most painful part is when they are pushing up through the jaw bones a month or two before hand. Poor baby! :(

We also took him to see a chiropractor who sees infants. She is at the same location as our pediatrician. We went because Jax's head is developing a little lopsided. His right ear and forehead are slightly higher than his left. We want to correct this now so it doesn't get more pronounced.

Don't worry!!! She doesn't crack him like they do to adults. It is more pressure techniques and changes in our habits at home. He is a little tight in his neck on the left side. This causes him to favor looking and laying to one side over the other. She thinks this could be from being engaged so early in the womb or from trauma from birth that many babies go through. He did get stuck for a couple of minutes during pushing (see Birth Story Part 3 post in August) so I am not surprised. If we fix it now then it won't get worse over time. So both Jaxon and I will be seeing her once a week for awhile. I need to continue the care I started while pregnant but have not had time for since I had him. Plus my issues in my neck have gotten worse from looking down while breastfeeding.

Hopefully Jaxon and I will see much improvement quickly.

I'm Supposed to Smile Right?

Perhaps it is because his Grandma Shirley has been snapping pictures of him since the hour he was born or mommy constantly tries to get him to smile for the camera but Jaxon is now starting to become aware of the camera. Whenever I take it out he stares at it for a second and then begins to flash his adorable grin. Even when I am trying to catch him doing something (like blowing spit bubbles) he stops, stares, and smiles.










Too funny!