4 months!!

How in the world can Jonah already be 4 months old?! It's SO crazy how fast time goes with a little one! He was actually 4 months old on Saturday and had his 4 month checkup today at the doctor. He is a big, strong, healthy little baby...slowing turning into a little boy:) He gained three pounds in the past 2 months so he now weighs in at 16 lbs and 9 ounces which puts him in the 85th percentile (he is getting skinner though because last time he was in the 95th percentile). He also grew almost 3 inches in length so is now 26 1/4 inches long, which puts him in the 90th percentile. Based on these facts, he is going towards the direction of being more like his daddy, not his mommy, which is fine by me! The doctor said he is doing great...growing at a great rate, lungs sound good, and everything looks great developmentally up to this point. We just need to keep working with him on his tummy time so he can start rolling over! He also got his second round of shots today and he didn't do too terrible with it considering they were sticking a needle in his poor chubby leg. He cried, but it didn't last as long as when he got shots at 2 months so I was happy for that! So yeah, he's great and we are so happy and we feel very blessed with how good he's doing so far:)

First night away

So I had my first night away from Jonah on Friday of this past weekend. I had plans to go to Champaign to the Rascal Flatts concert with my sister Kaislie. Kaislie had asked me awhile back if I would want to go and I told her no because I couldn't spend the money on it at that time, and she really wanted to go so she was very kind and said she would buy me ticket. I couldn't pass that up so I said yes and we made our plans. Because it was on a Friday night I knew Micah couldn't keep Jonah because he would have to work that day, so my mom said her and my dad could keep him overnight. I decided that I would like a night away so I said ok to my mom's offer. I knew I would have to bring milk for Jonah because he doesn't take formula so we practiced giving him bottles a few nights in a row before the time came to be away from him. On Thursday Kaislie wasn't feeling well so we didn't know if we'd go, but the next day she was fine so we went. We left Morris around noon on Friday. I wasn't worried about Jonah's safety or anything like that since he was with my parents, but of course I was just nervous for him to take 3 bottles in a row on Friday and then another one Saturday morning. Also, he sleeps through the night, but I didn't want him not to for my parents and then have to be up in the night with him. I sent my mom multiple text messages throughout the day and night and talked to her a few times as well, just to check up on things and see how it was going. Every time I talked to her, she said things were going just fine, except he did fuss when they put him down to bed so they picked him up, he fell asleep in my mom's arms, and then she put him down and he was fine. He slept straight thru the night just as he always does so that was great! My mom actually went into his room at 7:30 on Saturday morning because she hadn't heard him yet and he normally makes a few sounds before then. We got back to Morris around 10:30 on Saturday morning and I was soooooo happy to see Jonah. I missed him so much but I do have to say that I am glad I took that opportunity to get away and know he was safe with my parents:)

Amazing!

It really amazes me everyday how much stronger and more "advanced" Jonah is getting. It seems like just yesterday we had to really support his head and all he could do was lay down on his back, and he hated being put down on his tummy no matter when or where or how we did it. Now he can hold his head up on his own, he is liking tummy time a little more each day, and he can sit up (while supported some of course). The end of this week has been great for his tummy time. He use to only stay on his tummy for 5 minutes at the most and he has given me a few times of 15 to 30 minutes lately which is such a huge step! When he's on his tummy, he really can hold his head up so much more and it's so fun to watch these advancements in his growth and development. He is changing day by day and it's so crazy! Here are a few pictures that really show his strength:)

Yay for Jonah!!

From the time Jonah was born he has been sleeping at night swaddled. The two nights in the hospital he was swaddled in a blanket and ever since he's been at home he's been swaddled in a swaddleme. I hated swaddling him with a blanket. I thought it was really hard and I couldn't do it (Micah or a nurse had to do it for it to be done well). The swaddleme is the best invention! All you have to do is put him in it, his feet are covered and you just swaddle the arms and it has velcro to get it to stay. Whenever I would do the blanket it would come loose because I wouldn't get it tucked in good enough; not an issue with the actual swaddleme. As Jonah has been getting older and bigger, we knew we would sometime have to break the habit of swaddling because he will eventually start rolling over and we don't want him swaddled when then happens. Last weekend we decided we would try and put him down to bed without being swaddled. This was a disaster! He never cries when we put him down to bed and he started crying the second Micah put him in his crib; he was hysterical! We had the monitor on downstairs and we let him cry for about 5 minutes and then Micah went up and took him out of his crib and loved him for a few minutes. The second Micah picked him up he of course stopped crying. After a few minutes, Micah put him back down and the crying started again immediately. We went back downstairs and let him cry a little longer this time, and he wouldn't stop so we had to go back up. Micah swaddled him up like normal and guess what...he went to sleep like it was nothing...not even another peep. So the week came and went and we decided to try again last night. We decided this time to wrap the swaddle around him so he still has that tight and comforted feeling, but not put his arms in the swaddle. He made a few peeps when we put him down but he slept! It was great!! We went in to get him this morning and he was just as happy as ever. So now tonight we were hoping for the same greatness of him sleeping without his arms swaddled...so far so good!:)

Surprise!!!

So yesterday was just going to be a normal day of nothing for Jonah and I. I had fed Jonah about 7:15 a.m. and then I got myself ready for the day (which means I showered, dried my hair, pulled it back in a ponytail, and got dressed in sweatpants and a sweatshirt). We then went downstairs and played for a bit on the floor until Jonah was tired and fell asleep. I proceeded with my day by eating breakfast and watching t.v. which I do pretty much do every morning. We have started to try a four hour eating schedule with Jonah instead of 3 hours, so I still had some time before I would need to worry about him waking up and me feeding him again. I was watching The View and I decided that I needed to work some more on Jonah's scrapbook which I have been obsessed with doing lately. The first page I did was a page of Jonah and his Auntie Kirsten. It wasn't too complicated of a page so it did not take that long. Then I was working on a page of him and his grammy. I was about halfway through the page when the doorbell rang. I was hesitant to answer because I didn't know who in the world it could be at 10:30 in the morning. I was sitting at the dining room table which is right by the door so I decided I better answer. I opened the door and it was my parents and Tink. I couldn't believe it!! They surprised me and came to visit!! I was sooooooooooo happy!!! Jonah was almost ready to be waking up anyway so I woke him up so his grammy and grampy could love him. It was such a wonderful surprise. We just hung out and played with Jonah all day. It was so much fun. Mom and Dad are so great and bought me Subway for lunch and we ordered carryout from a restaurant called Pano's for dinner. When Jonah was in bed for the evening mom and I got to watch The Bachelor and Momma's Boys together (Dad and Micah were in the room, but they did other things instead of watching). It's so fun having someone to watch my shows with and talk about them:) They stayed the night and then this morning got a little more time with Jonah before I left for a MOPS meeting at 8:45. What a great day I had yesterday! I only wish it could happen more often.

3 months!!

I can't believe Jonah is 3 months old today!! These past 3 months have just flown by, yet it's hard to remember our lives without our precious baby boy. When looking at the big picture, 3 months is such a short time, but 3 months for a baby is huge! There are so many changes that take place in the first year and so many have already taken place in the first 3 months. I remember when I was waking up in the night, 2 or 3 times, to feed Jonah (boy, am I glad those days are gone!). Now, I feed him before I go to bed between 10:30 and 11 and he sleeps until 7 or 7:30 (YAY!!) I remember when we had to completely support his head...now he can hold it up practically by himself. I remember when he would wake up in the morning just crying because he was hungry...now I hear him stirring and go in to his room and he's awake and smiling:) I remember when all he did was sleep...now he stays awake some between feedings and plays and smiles and coos (there are some days when he's fussy that I wish he did just sleep:) Jonah is such a blessing in my life and in Micah's life as well. I cannot wait to see what these next 3 months will bring!!!

The start of a new year

So with the start of a new year (well, this isn't quite the start being that we are already 12 days into January), I thought I would jump on the bandwagon of blogging. I figure with an almost 3 month old baby, I could have stuff to talk about and pictures to share:) So 2008 brought about many changes to the lives of Micah and I. First off, we were not planning to have a baby so soon, but February 26th came the great news of the new life that would be joining us in a short 9 months. We were surprised but SOOOOOOOOOOO excited!! Then, Micah was finishing up grad school and starting to apply for jobs and go to interviews. He graduated in June and was still without a job so he kept searching. The hard part of that was that our lease in New Lenox was up at the end of June and we were then going to be homeless because we couldn't move because we didn't know where he would find a job. We then decided it would be best to move in with Micah's parents in Morris until we knew where we would be going. We moved in with them at the beginning of July and lived with them for the whole month.

Meanwhile, towards the middle to end of the month, Micah found an amazing job but the not so amazing part was that it was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was such a great job he couldn't pass it up so we took a weekend, looked around for places to live, and found a great place in Waukesha, WI. Micah was starting his job August 1st and he lived in a hotel for a week until we moved into our new home on August 9th. I had to leave my job at JULIE in Joliet obviously since we were moving to WI. That was a big move, considering I was about 7 months pregnant and had to quickly find a new doctor. I found a doctor and she was great and Jonah Dean Tesdall came into our lives on October 14th at 3:01 p.m. Now fast forward about 3 months and here we are:) Jonah is so amazing...such a little blessing in our lives. I hope you will enjoy hearing about him and seeing pictures and videos of him!