Baby Sawyer: 4 Months Old

I’m popping in to share a four month update on baby Sawyer (before he turns 5 months next week). Time is flying by way too fast! His personality just keeps getting better and better. He has the cutest grin and is ticklish under his arms and his neck. He loves bath time and his bear lovie. He has great head control and loves to kick his little legs. He wants to put everything in his mouth, especially his hands and he’s an expert hair puller. He is easily distracted by anything on TV, babbles to himself as he goes to sleep and he still hates getting dressed. He enjoys going on strolls and being outside. Whit and I love watching him grow and learn new things. His smile melts my heart every single time. We are so lucky to be his parents.

4 month stats

Sawyer is 24.5 inches long, which puts him in the 20th percentile for height. And he is currently a whopping 13 lbs 6.5 oz which puts him in the 10th percentile for weight. He may not be the biggest guy but the Dr. was pleased with his consistent growth. His head on the other hand is in the 37th percentile. Here's a photo of him after he got his shots at his fourth month appointment. He was surprisingly in much better spirits than he was after the first round.

Current schedule

We’re still on the 8-16 schedule in the Moms on Call book, or at least for the most part. His naps are getting shorter. I laugh at the daily sheets that are sent home from daycare. Sometimes he only naps for 30 mins, the entire day. It makes for one tired baby when he gets home. The struggle is then to keep him awake for his nighttime feeding. But he still drinks his milk like a champ, taking three bottles at day care and breastfeeding twice a day. He also tries to hold the bottle himself now.

Favorite things
We bought this sit, spin and stand activity table and he is finally starting to love it. I think he could stand to be a little taller in order to fit in it more comfortable, but he’s loving it. He’s also a big fan of Sophie the giraffe, which we’ve recently renamed, Jeremy.

Hardest moment

I was warmed about the constant sickness that would come and go with him in daycare. At our last Dr.’s appointment, we were informed that on average, children that attend daycare are introduced to a new virus every 2 weeks. Lovely! He’s had a stuffy, runny nose multiple times now. 

Sweetest moment

Morning snuggles are the best and I really try to soak them up on the weekend. We’ve been putting him in the bed with us on Saturday mornings and he will just lay there, play with his toys and “talk to us.” I could just lay there with him for hours.

Something fun we did this month (October)

We celebrated Sawyer's first Halloween! He was the most adorable little lobster. We rode around on the golf cart with friends while the toddlers were trick or treating. He wore the costume the whole time and surprisingly didn't get upset. 

Breastfeeding
I’m still going and can't believe I've made it this far. I hope to be able to continue for a few more months. So far Sawyer is still exclusively on breast milk, although we were told at our 4 month check up that we can start to introduce pureed food whenever we would like. I think I’m going to hold out until at least 6 months. 

 This photo pretty much sums things up. :)

5 Year Wedding Anniversary + Charleston Staycation

Last month Whit and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary. For past anniversaries, we've always taken a trip somewhere. Year one we went to the mountains, year two we went to Thailand, year three we went to the BVI's and last year we took a trip to Italy. This year we had more than just ourselves to think about. Being that Sawyer was only 4 months old, we weren't comfortable traveling far away and leaving him behind, so we decided to do a staycation.

We love living in Charleston but have never really "played tourists" in this beautiful city, so that's exactly what we decided to do. We booked a quick overnighter which was the perfect amount of time away seeing as how we had never left Sawyer before. We checked into the The Vendue  and were immediately  greeted with a glass of champagne. I had never been inside before other than to take the elevator to the rooftop bar. Our room was so cozy and quaint with exposed brick walls, a gas fireplace, antique furnishings and complimentary sherry. Our room was in the building across the street from the main part of the hotel and had a view of the rooftop bar in the distance. 

Dinner reservations were at the hotel's new restaurant, Revival, a modern restaurant with a focus on recipe and ingredients from South Carolina's past. The service was wonderful and the food was delicious. 

We really enjoyed being downtown in a prime location where we could walk around afterwards. Whit and I decided to take an evening stroll at the battery to walk off all the food we ate and called it night.

Saturday morning we walked across the street again to take advantage of the complimentary continental breakfast. I went the sweet route and enjoyed fresh cinnamon buns and coffee. It was so nice to just sit outside and people watch as everyone was getting their morning started. 

It was gorgeous on Saturday, so we decided to extend our check out time and explore the city by bikes provided by the hotel. This was also something we've never done and we are now convinced that we want bicycles for Christmas. It was fun to roam the little side streets downtown and admire all the beautiful old homes.

After our bike ride we decided to walk and find a place for lunch. Just a few steps down from our hotel was a cute little spot called the East Bay Meeting House, so we popped in for a warm sandwich and a cold glass of beer.

By the time we finished our lunch, we were itching to get back to our baby boy. Our trip may have been short but we had a great time and most importantly survived our first night away from the little one!

Baby Sawyer: 3 Months Old

It is hard to believe Sawyer is three months old! He's actually almost four months old now because I'm late writing this post. His little side smile melts my heart every time. He smiles at everyone that shows him attention, he makes the cutest baby squeals and giggles, he is officially a fan of the bath tub, he loves to suck on his fists, and he isn’t a fan of tummy time, but can officially roll over. He’s starting to slightly reach for things, he loves the sound of owl noises that his swing makes and his activity mat piano skills are on point. And he now sleeps through the night in his big boy crib. 

I returned to work last week and it was rough! Until then, I had not been away from him for longer than three hours. It was so difficult to walk out the door, leaving him behind on my first day back. I was comforted by the fact that my mom watched him the first two days. Then there was his first day at daycare. I cried when I dropped him off. I cried on my way to work. I cried when I got to work (multiple times). And again, more crying when I got home. Last week was an emotional one to say the least. It's hard to be away from my sweet little guy, but I'm trying to pull it together. 

Three Month Stats

Sawyer weighs around 12 lbs, based on my scale at home. He seems to be growing so quickly all of the sudden. I think his cheeks must weigh at least 1 lb. I can't get enough of them! All of the sudden, he can now fit in all of his clothes I've been saving. Most of them are  3 month sizes. I almost waited to late to let him wear some of them.  

Current Schedule

We transitioned to the third phase of schedules in the Mom's on Call book. I'm happy to report that since my last post, Sawyer is sleeping through the night! He actually began doing this around 2 1/2 months old. I remember instinctively waking up in the middle of the night to look at the monitor and he was still asleep. I did this a few more times throughout the night but he was sound asleep. Getting those precious hours of shut eye back was a big deal! I felt a little more sane.

Favorite Things

I bought him a little octopus that lights up and plays music. This was all a part of my plan to distract him from tummy time, which he hates. And it worked! He is getting a little more comfortable with tummy time every day. He is also a big fan of his bear lovie. It's perfect because the blanket covers him in the car seat and of course he wants to put the head in his mouth. As a matter of fact, he wants to put all of his toys (and hands) in his mouth right now.

Hardest Moment (s)

There were two of them. 1: Going back to work! Man, I knew it was going to be tough, but I had no idea I would be as emotional as I was. 2: Sawyer got a little cold the week before I went back to work. It was hard hearing him all congested with his little sneezes and dry coughs. Despite the cold, he was in good spirits. 

Sweetest Moment

When I hear those baby giggles and him "talking to me." Baby giggles are the best and that's one of the things I've been patiently waiting to hear. A few tickles under his arms will get him going. And he loves to talk back to us, until he sees my phone as I try to record him. 

Breastfeeding, Pumping & Bottles

I am currently still breastfeeding. I do it in the morning before work and at night before he goes to bed. While at work, I'm pump three times per day. I'm fortunate to have a nice nursing room at the office which makes things a little more comfortable and easier to manage. I'm going to keep it up for as long as I can. While I'm away, he takes bottles of breast milk. He is a little reluctant to drink from the bottle each time he has to, but after a few minutes he will suck it right down! He's also increased his intake to about 5 ounces per feeding.

Here's a little bit of what we've been up to since my last post.

We took a road trip to Florence to visit Whit's grandparents. It was so nice to have them spend some time with Sawyer. It was actually the first time Whit's grandmother met Sawyer.

 Meanwhile, I finally got the hang of the solly baby wrap.

 Sawyer loves spending time with his Gammy, especially when it's involves being outside.

This is what tummy time looked like a few weeks ago. Someone was not a fan. Luckily he finds it more enjoyable now. 

 This photo was from a few weeks ago. Since then, he no longer sleeps in the rock n play, we've done away with the swaddle and he's now in a sleep sack.

When we transitioned to the crib, we used the dock a tot to ease into things. Now he's sleeping in there without it.

His first time taking a bottle! It took him a few minutes but he decided it wasn't so bad after all.

 He clearly enjoyed it!

I almost waited too long before putting him in this outfit. He finally grew into it and looks like such a grown man. He wanted to dress his best to go shopping with the girls.

He came with me to get my hair done and met his great aunt for the first time (she's also my hairdresser).

 He also got to meet our cousin.

And his great grandmother. This was such a special moment! My Mama cried so many happy tears when she was finally able to meet him. He was so happy snuggled in her arms. 

 He loves bath time and I love wrapping him up in all of his cute hooded towels.

 He now pays attention to story time...for a short period of time anytime. This is one of my favorite pictures of him.

When we transitioned to the crib, we started putting him in his footed pjs each night so he would be extra cozy. We have so many of them but have been reluctant to put them on him because it has been so hot.

Hurricane Florence gave us a little scare but thankfully spared us. We took advantage of the cooler weather and no humidity and spent some time outside.

In an effort to get out of the house before the nasty weather hit, we visited a new local brewery with friends. 

I caught him sleeping with his lip poked out. He cracks me up when he does this. 

New teething toys from target. No, he doesn't have teeth but he sure does love to put things in his mouth. These seemed acceptable.

We recently had our counter tops replaced in the kitchen, along with a few other things. It was a messy project, so we decided to do a little stay-cation on John's Island for a week. Sawyer put on a bathing suit for the first time and dipped his tiny toes in the pool.

Sawyer has officially outgrown the rock n play. I only put him in it now and then so I can watch him when I'm getting ready.

The last Friday of my maternity leave, we ventured downtown. It was one million degrees outside and somebody was cranky. 

His first day of daycare....followed by endless tears from me.

I can't believe how fast he is growing!