Happy Halloween!

This year it made us realize how different life is with a baby when Jeff's friend enthusiastically called him up and asked, "Hey, what are you and Aly doing for Halloween this year?!" Jeff thought for a second and then replied by saying we'd probably be sitting around in our sweat pants with Will handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. Life is so FULL with our little guy! We feel blessed every day to have him here with us. Here are some pictures of Will cashed out in his bear costume that my friend Jody gave us. He had no idea that we were playing "dress up" with him!

Kidney Update

For those of you that may remember, Will's kidneys showed up as being slightly dilated on the ultrasounds I had when pregnant (the medical name is hydronephrosis). This was something that they continued to monitor through my pregnancy. It never resolved itself, so the recommendation was to have Will get checked when he reaches 2 months old. Yesterday, I took him to Clarian North/Riley to get an ultrasound on his kidneys. It was uneventful, besides the tech commenting on how much gas she could see inside him! Our pediatrician's nurse called today with the results. Will's right kidney shows mild hydronephrosis and the left one shows mild to moderate hydronephrosis. Therefore, we are being referred to a pediatric urologist to learn what this means!

2 Months Old...Watch Me Grow

Mom, this is a ridiculous reason to take a picture. I am not in the mood! Pick me up already! I just wanna be in your arms right now and I'll be happy again.

So today I turned 2 months old. Mom is going to take a picture of me in this chair as I grow because the chair doesn't grow (duh) and it will show how big I'm getting. She really likes to take pictures of me. Sometimes I think it's fun and sometimes (like now) I don't like it.

At my 2 month appointment, I had to get naked (and that made me a little mad because I was sleeping so soundly in my car seat). The nurse said I weigh 11 lbs. 5 oz. Mom & Dad looked excited. Then she tried to stretch me out to measure how long I am. I didn't like that either because I like to be a wiggle worm instead of hold still. Anywho, she said I'm 22 inches long. Dr. Keller showed mom and dad this chart thing that tells how I'm between the 25th and 50th percentile for weight and he even joked to my mom saying, "What are you feeding this guy?!" Duh (again)...she gives me good milk and I like to eat. I still wake mom up every three hours at night because it's so good. Who would want to skip a meal?!

Dr. Keller was a lot cooler than the nurse. He stuck something funny up my nose. I thought it was pretty funny so I gave him a big smile. He seemed surprised! Then he put me on my stomach and I showed him how I can lift my head (mom has been making me practice EVERY day). He also did this weird thing with my legs and hips. I tried to be stiff and not let him move my legs around so he said I was strong. But he won...eventually he was able to move them the way he wanted to.

Besides that, mom asked a TON of questions (I think she even made dad hold me so she could refer to her notes or something crazy like that). I spit up on daddy right in front of Dr. Keller to show him more of what I can do. Dad got a big spot on his shirt, oh well. Since I gained so much weight, they are going to give me a little more acid reflux medicine each day (thank goodness-- I was wondering when they'd figure that out)! Come on people....

Dr. Keller also said that I should be easier during the night by the time I come back here for my 4 month appointment. I don't get it. What's wrong with waking mom up so I can eat every 3 hours. It's fun to see her and get fed too! So we'll see about that one...

Oh yeah. Almost forgot. I've been moved. Now I sleep in this cool crib with sail boats, whales, and palm trees. The scenery is a lot better than the other thing they've had me in for the past 8 weeks. Glad they've got me in my own room now. And I think they may be spying on me with this weird looking camera monitor...

Colic Fits

Tonight, putting Will on top of the dryer while singing to him worked. It was like turning off a switch...It worked immediately as soon as I laid him on it. Like clock work, we can usually count on Will turning into a mad baby around 7:00 at night. But every once in awhile, he'll surprise us with a good evening and spare us the non stop crying. Mom and Dad are getting calmer about the fits though. They use to make us feel helpless and terrible, but now we've learned that there will be an end to them (usually somewhere between 9:30 and 12:00). Here's our sweet boy happy as a lark on the dryer!

Too cute to not post!

Fun with Friends in Town!

Andy and Carisa Oppermann from Wisconsin made the trip down to good ol IN to visit and meet Will! They have a gorgeous 'big' 6 month old, Nate, who was a joy to spend time with. We all enjoyed our weekend and laughed about how drastically different our weekends together are now that we both have babies! No more late nights out or sleeping in during the mornings! My parents did come up Sat. night though to give us a night out to dinner together--Thanks Grandma & Grandpa! I think my mom and dad enjoyed caring for two little ones, although Will had a very colicky evening! One of the pics below shows a new position Grandma found that helps Will calm down (for a few minutes at least)when he gets in one of his non-stop crying fits...we think she's on to something here! Andy, Carisa, Jeff, and I took the boys on a nice walk as well as a visit to Stucky's Apple Orchard & Pumpkin Patch. You'll see the cute Halloween outfit that Will's Nana got for him in the pumpkin picture--thanks Nana! It was the most beautiful sunny fall weekend!

The pumpkin is as big as Will! Enjoying our stroller walk (with a very thankful Jones) This makes Will stop crying! (for a few min. at least) Monkey boy Nate loves jumping while Will swings (sleeping DURING the day of course)!

Changing Every Day...

Will's eyebrows are beginning to surface! It is so amazing to see how this little guy changes each day. His eye lashes are getting longer too. =)

Passed Out after Nursing

Play Time

I love when our little guy is alert and happy! He plays under his ocean play mat, listens to the music, and bats at the toys. While tummy time isn't one of his favorite things to do (due to the frequent spit up), he is accomplishing a lot! It's tough work lifting that heavy head, but Will is great at it! We praise him and tell him "good job" when he does it!

Loving the Family

Mimi

Grandma Jo

Aly's cousin April

Uncle Aaron

Uncle Brent

Spit Up Happens...All the time...

That's right...Will is a spitter-uper! Caution to those of you who want to hold him! It could be an hour after he's eaten, but time won't stop him from spitting up again. Could this be why he seems to want to eat ALL the time?! In all seriousness though, he's doing very well and is gaining the appropriate weight despite all the spit up. He does have GERD/acid reflux, so we have had him on omeprazole to try to block the acid. It sometimes seems to help with his pain, but at other times doesn't seem to do the trick. The screaching while eating and arching of his back/neck comes and goes. Hoping that Dr. Keller will let us try another type of GERD/acid reflux medicine when we go back for our two month check up next week!