4 months old!!

I can NOT believe how much Brayden has changed in the last month! it's amazing what he can do and how much more attentive he is.  He is learning at such a rapid pace and discovering his world. I LOVE every moment of it!  I hate how fast time is going but the older he gets the more fun he is.  He is a big talker now.. babbling,growling and screeching at anything and everything. He even had a 2 mins conversation with a pillow feeling and scrathing it the other day. lol  His leg and body strength is insane. I swear he is going to skip sitting and crawling and go straight to pulling himself up and running away. Okay may not to that extent but he really is experiencing things in a whole new light! He really makes every day amazing.... I'm SO IN LOVE!

Trying to sit up like a big boy!!  Doesn't last long but he is learning! 

 Drool monster! 

Some of the 4 month sticker shots! 

He is most definitely standing on his own.. his butt is the only thing touching the couch.. nuts! 

Look at those giant feet! size 3!! : P 

 I ABSOLUTELY love this one! 

CAUGHT eating his feet AGAIN! :) 

Doing the "model" pose! 

OH BANANAS!

It's been a whirlwind week of firsta for Brayden and Mommy!

On Tuesday we had Brayden's 4 month appt!  He is getting so big so fast!  He is now 15lb 1oz(50%) and 26 3/4 inches long(above 95%)!  TALL BOY!  The dr was very happy with his overall body strength and he loved showing off how well he stands, rolls, holds his head and body up and trys to sit! lol He did get 4 shots and an oral vaccine. Of course he cried (and mommy shed a tear) but he did much better than the last time he had his shots, so i was proud of him!

 We also got the okay to start solids!  So I went to the store and got some goodies (organic of course..lol) to make his food. I made carrots, peas, butternut squash, apples, bananas and avocado!  I froze all of his food in his containers and made cubes with the rest and bagged them up. it makes it SO easy and it made so much food for such little money!! can't beat that!

On wednesday we had our appointment at CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) with the gastro. It looks like there isn't much more we can do for Brayden's reflux Which can be extremely frustrating when he is in pain. But since is he gaining about 1 lb a month she is not concerned that he is at risk for malnourishment.

I was really glad the Dr decided that we are not going to have to do an endoscopy. She said that with his history and symptoms he definitely has GERD, so there is no need to put him through unnecessary testing. Needless to say I am SO grateful! So I was able to get the dr to agree to take him off the zantac (since i don't think it's working anyway) and we are sticking solely with the prevacid.  So in the mean time we are keeping him on the alimentum, since it takes the edge off the pain.

We also started Bananas on Wednesday! He absolutely loved them.. i mixed in some oatmeal (as per the dr) to help his stomach and he had fun making a mess and chewing on his spoon... i think he was more interested in eating the spoon than anything else. lol

We also transitioned Brayden to the crib on wednesday! This definitely gave me some anxiety!  As much as i did not want to move him to the crib I felt like he was being disturbed by us going to bed at night and wasn't getting as sounds of sleep.. so it was time.  He had an AWFUL first night... it wasn't even the crib it was his reflux. he was in so much pain and kept waking up. as soon as I would get him calmed down and lay him in bed he would be back up crying.  Needless to say it was a ROUGH night. I had attributed it to possibly being  b/c we had just stopped the zantac but wasn't convinced that was it.
Thursday the same thing happened. I felt so bad for him.  But I had this lingering though that it HAD to be the bananas he was eating around dinner time.

So Friday I tested my theory and he only got plain oatmeal.... and SURPRISE he had a good night. he woke up for his regular bottle but otherwise he did great.
So far he doesn't mind sleeping in the crib, even though mommy is slowly adjusting. I know i'm ridiculous but with all of his reflux issues i was more comfortable to have him in the pack and play in our room.  But he's a big boy so i need to let him have his own space.

Here's some pics of him playing in the crib after a nap : ) 

LOVES the mobile! 

Tonight we started carrots, he really wasn't sure what to make of it and made some hilarious faces... fortunately so far they haven't had any repercussions on his stomach!Again he is obsessed with the spoon! 

  

MMM Feet!

Brayden discovered his feet a few weeks ago and he is OBSESSED! lol it's the cutest thing! He gets so angry when he has to put PJ's on an yells at you b/c he wants to "eat" his feet!
Yesterday he discovered his arm.. not his hands (that was at 2 months) but his arm! It's so fun to watch him move his arm around and watch how he can made it go where he wants!
It is really so amazing to watch him discover his world... I love being a mom!

Teething

Brayden has been teething for about a month and a half and still hasn't had a break through. He apparently likes to teeth REALLY early like his daddy.   The kid chews on ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! From toys to blankets, teethers, our fingers and anything with in reach :)  We are going through bibs like they are going out of style. He literally soaked through 7 bibs today. He is not a very good teether but with a little tylenol here and there he's been managing pretty well.  Here's hoping whatever is trying to pop through does it quickly!! :)

NOM NOM NOM

Just for Fun!

Ok I am seriously a picture addict.. but it's amazing how much Brayden changes/learns on a day to day basis, it's so much fun watching him grow, smile and play! 

He LOVES the exersaucer he just got! 

"what are you eating?!" 

Typical "inquisitive" look

what a sweetheart!

All jack cared was that he was getting pet, even if he got poked in the eye! lol 

3 month photos!

We got Brayden's 3 month photos done at Target. he wasn't having the best day but we got a few adorable shots!  We did diaper shots and pics in his Aaron Rodgers Green Bay Packers Jersey (of course) lol
These are the ones that we have printed and hung..

I FINALLY got the pics up on the wall with his newborn teddybear hat pic that i LOVE!

How tall?!

LOL We are always talking about how TALL Brayden is and everyone always thinks he is much older than he really is! At his christening we decided to compare baby heights. Mind you his girlfriend Arianna is 9 months old and he is 3 1/2 months in this pic. YUP they are the same exact size. 27"!! lol heights have been confirmed by recent dr's appts! looks like a we have a basketball player, quarterback or pitcher on our hands! : p 

she's trying to cheat on her tippie toes! lol 

Be my Valentine!

This year not only did I have 1 but I had 2 Valentines! I just had to share these pics! how can he NOT make your day!! 

He was literally cracking himself up (and i actually caught it on camera!)

His foot obsession! He finally learned he can put them in his mouth!! 

OOHHHHH!

Hi ho, Hi Ho, off to the Park we go!

FINALLY two days in a row of nice warm weather!! Of course it's now cold again but I'll take a break when ever i can get it! Since it was so nice out we decided Brayden would get his first trip to the park! We had a great time!  He absolutely loved the swing and had fun going down the slide! We had a great time with Aunt Jill, Abby, Shahana and Maddie! Hopefully next time his other "girlfriends" will get a chance to come play too!
Brayden is just like his mommy and loves to people watch... he had a great time looking at all the kids and going for a walk.  He even got to sit in the "big boy" part of the stroller.  It's amazing what some nice weather can do for your mood! I cant wait for spring and summer!!!

LOVES the swing!! 

Going Down the slide!

Maddie, Abby and Brayden

Napping at the Park