Tummy Time

We have been working harder on Tummy Time to strengthen Braxten's neck but it seems to only be successful for a short time. He has such strong legs that they over power his upper body and he ends up looking like a tent with his face smashed into the floor. We laughed with the pictures so decided to share.

Tummy Time Success

Tummy Time Fail :)

3 Months!!!

I am 3 Months Old!!!

• I weigh 13lb 11oz
• I am 23.75 inches long
• I sleep 10-11 hours at night
• I have learned to blow bubbles (raspberries)
• I grab toys and can transfer them from hand to hand
• I coo constantly and giggle on occasion (it is the best sound ever!)
• I am close to rolling over when I get mad but not quite yet
• I am working on Tummy Time but I don't like it
• My neck is getting much better - I look to the left on my own!
• My eyes still are not quite brown, green or gray 
• I enjoy sitting on Mommy and Daddy's laps to read books and watch tv
• I still love being outside!

Braxten was not very happy in the beginning and we got the best picture of the poor pouty lip! Another month has passed quickly! I went back to work and Ralph loves his Daddy days, this week Missi is going to begin watching Braxten too! We are so lucky to be able to make our schedules work in a way to have family watching him! Life continues to get better and better due to the smiles and laughs that Braxten has brought to our lives!

My Pouty Face

Daddy Days!

I went back to work this week, 3 days in a row! Daddy was in charge - I call them Daddy Days! Braxten is going to love them. I had a really hard time thinking about going back to work, many tears were shed and fear of missing out on something new. I want to be there when he rolls over, crawls, pulls himself up, talks and walks (along with every other milestone) but then I realized that he will do all of those things more than once. Tuesday morning I put on my scrubs and felt like I nurse. It's a great feeling to know you are going to help others feel better and maybe save a life. I was also excited for Ralph and Braxten to have a few days together. Ralph was amazing! They went to Kroger to make dinner, car rides to calm B down, napped together, went to the doctor, rapped and watch TV and B learned how to hold his own bottle :) . I would race home to try to kiss him good night and Ralph would be standing in the nursery holding him until I got home so that I could! Ralph is back to work today and I am back to taking care of my little man. Life is so amazing!

Ralph's First Father's Day

I love my Daddy!!! We had a great first Father's Day! Daddy went golfing with his friends and then we went to Popo and Mamaw's swimming pool where I played with Aunt Colleen, Uncle Nate, Zoe, Cooper, Colin and Uncle Branden. I didn't get in the pool because the water is too cold but I am hoping I can in July. I wore my bib because it is true - I put the Happy in Father's Day :) We celebrated Father's Day on Friday too with Pop and Missi. We had a cookout and watched the Reds win!
    

Thank you Daddy for being so loving and caring! You are my best friend - I love spending time with you! I can't wait for what adventures the years will bring us! I love you!

Torticollis

Braxten was diagnosed with Torticollis - basically it is a "twisted neck in which the head is tipped to one side and the chin is turned to the other". Not a big deal, it is very common, but he does not look to the left very easily due to tightened neck muscles. We took him to see a physical therapist friend and she showed us some stretches but he hates them and instantly cries and tightens up as soon as we start :( We have found other times to help him out though, as he is about to be asleep, truly relaxed and while nursing seem to work. We bought a Tortle hat to encourage him to keep his head to the left side and get rid of the small flat spot he is developing (which 58% of babies have now due to sleeping on their backs). He has begun to turn his head when he is hungry and during tummy time so we are making progress!!! We will keep up those stretches - lots of exciting things happen on the left side of life that we want him to see :)

This one he looks tough! Make fun of my hat and I will sock ya! haha

New Nursing Schedule!!

     Yesterday at 11.5 weeks, Braxten decided that he wanted to eat every 3.5 hours instead of every 3! That half hour seems like nothing but it actually takes one of the nursing times away and feels like so much extra time!!! He is sleeping so much better too (not that he was ever a bad sleeper). Two nights ago, Monday, the time between feedings was 9pm to 5:15am, over 8 hours, then on Tuesday night he went from 8:45pm to 6:15am, 9.5 hours, and last night went from 8pm to 5:30, 9.5 hours again!!!! He has had a few nights of 9 hours in the past but never two in a row!!! Good job little man!
     We are now trying to figure out the 3.5 hour schedule so it looks like this so far...
6am  - nurse and then back to bed
9:30am - nurse and stay awake for about 60 minutes (nursing included)
10:45am - Nap #1, should last until the next feeding but he woke up a little early
12:30pm - Woke up and hung out until 1
1pm - nurse and stay awake for 60-90 minutes (nursing included)
2:15pm - Nap #2
4:30pm - nurse and stay awake until bed time! This is a tough one and a little cat nap was taken :)
7:30pm - Bath time, no longer in the sink but in an infant tub in the actual tub - he grew out of the sink
8pm - final feeding but with formula and then off to dream!

This is only day 2 of the new schedule so we will find out today if yesterday was a fluke or if we will stick to this. I was told that at 12 weeks he sleeps longer and life gets a little on a predictable schedule - he is following Baby Wise wonderfully! Good Job Braxten!

First Road Trip

     On Thursday June 5th we took Braxten on his first road trip. The longest he had been in his car seat was 45 minutes prior and we were going to have him in there for at least 6.5 hours! Luckily he loves the car and he did great! We stopped to feed him a bottle and change him about 3 hours but not because he was crying but because it was time to eat! He didn't fuss until 5 hours on the road and stopped as soon as I crawled in the back and hung out with him for a bit. We stopped again for him to eat and then made it the rest of the way! It took 7.5 hours in all. We decided with one stop to change him in the car - the restroom was disgusting!

    We went to Georgia to Aunt Diane and Uncle Glenn's lake house on Lake Nottely to surprise Missi for her 60th birthday. She was shocked! We were not there for the initial surprise but we are told tears were involved as she walked onto the porch and saw most of her family standing there! The weekend was full of boating, wake boarding, knee boarding, jet skiing, pontoon cruising, family games, horse racing, golfing and lots of laughs! We could not have asked for a better time with everyone. Braxten was exhausted by the end of the day and passed out on Daddy before dinner. It is tough being the youngest person there out of 19 adults and 5 kids. He was able to melt the hearts of the whole family as each took turns holding him, making him laugh and filling his life with love! Thank you to Diane and Glenn for opening your house to us! It was so much fun!!!

Grandpa Harper and me

Pop and Cousin Tyler

The Eckel's riding the wake

Uncle Jason with cousins Rylan and Callie Jae

Meg and Harper Gray

Family playing Right, Left, Center - Glenn won of course

Grandma and Grandpa Harper

Missi with Callie Jae and Braxten

The Eckel Family swimming

Erin and Harper Gray

Missi and Diane

Cousin Rylan with Braxten

Grandma Harper reading to Rylan

Crew - with the Lewis Blues!

CB as part of the chorus line

Uncle Glenn is a favorite to play with

Diane, Sue, Patrick, Missi and Aunt Sarah

Braxten thought Sue was pretty funny

First Time Swimming!

We started off our Saturday as a little dude - as happy as can be! After a nap we went to Mamaw and Popo's to go swimming for the first time!It was not his favorite thing to do...yet. It was a bit cold in the water for him - not quite bath water but it will be in a few weeks. When he wasn't trying out the water, he was hanging out in his tent that the swing fit in perfectly! Rocky enjoyed the shade with Braxten. It was a fantastic family day!






 Daddy and Braxten went swimming!

              Mamaw!





Our boys hanging out in the shade!