Tummy Time.....

The only way I can get Brayden to lay on his tummy for more than a minute or two is if he is snoozing on my chest & that I have only been able to get his to do a few times.
I am trying to find different ways to get him to like being on his belly, but nothing seems to work or even help. I get on the floor with him, have things for him to look at while he is down there, talk to him in a voice that usually makes him smile & nothing....after about a minute he is done & on the verge of a full blown meltdown & I don't want him to hate it that much so I roll him on his back when I see that about to happen & try to stop the crying event that is about to happen.

The stress that I have over this is INSANE & the first step I am taking in the hopes that it helps us is laying him on his side when he naps!! My thought process about this is he is half way to being on his belly, he is off of his back & there is less chance of him getting Plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome)....this really freaks me out. But it still doesn't help with the fact that he won't do tummy time & if he doesn't do his tummy time then how is he ever going to roll over & eventually crawl??

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get Brayden to like being on his tummy??

A Year Ago....

I was pregnant with Brayden; I was only about a week along & had no idea yet but I was praying daily for our little miracle!! WOW, how things have changed in just a year!!!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was nice....didn't do much really & I think that is what made it nice. Friday I got home from work & did my normal routine...eat, Brayden's play time, bath, bottle, & then bed. Once he was asleep I curled up on the sofa & waited for Lance to get home from work.

Saturday I had a hair appointment so Lance's mom was going to watch Brayden for me at her house; I figured that it would be easier for her at her house since neither Lance or I would be around to control out crazy dogs!! So it was a crazy morning making sure that I had everything packed that he would need & then we were off about 8. My appointment wasn't until 10 but I wanted to make sure that he was alright when we got there & of course he was. I went to my hair appointment & was so proud that I only called 3 times to check in on him; the funny thing is the first time I called JuJu told me that daddy had already called to check in....so stinkin cute!! Anyway, I got my hair done & then ran to the grocery store & dropped all the groceries off at the house & then headed to go pick up little man. while I was on my way JuJu called & asked if I wanted to go to dinner with her & her friends & of course I said I would love too.....should have thought about that one a bit longer!!

I got to the house & Brayden was on the play mat that she had for him just playing away....he was talking & kicking his little heart out & it was so sweet to see that different surroundings didn't bother him in the slightest. He dozed off for a bit & his JuJu & I were talking & she told me that he really didn't sleep that much throughout the day......this should have thought twice about taking him to a restaurant!!! We left to go to dinner & had to stop to buy a bib since he had gone through the 4 that I had packed him through the day but all the stupid store had were pink ones so I said not to worry about it (maybe another sign I should have thought about going). We got to dinner & Brayden began to get a bit fussy so I made his bottle & started to feed him; he was alright for half of the bottle & then he just lost it!! He was hungry but was so tired that he just got mad.....needless to say I left to get him home for some much needed rest.

He dozed off on the way home after some very vocally expressing to me how tired he really was. When we got home he was no longer interested in sleeping so we played for a bit & then I put him in his swing with the hopes that he would fall asleep BUT he was just happy & content talking & playing in it.....I think he was waiting for Lance to get home so he could play with daddy! Lance got home about 6:30 played with Brayden & then got him to bed & then we just cuddled on the sofa & talked. It was so nice & relaxing........so relaxing that I fell asleep by 8 & didn't wake up until Lance woke me to go to bed at midnight!! I checked on Brayden, crawled in bed & was out!!

I didn't wake up until 6am (which is sleeping in) when I heard little man on the monitor & thought that I slept thorough Brayden waking for his normal 3-4am feeding BUT I was wrong. He slept through the night...poor baby must have been so tired! I got up & got Brayden while Lance made his bottle & we all climbed in our bed for his feeding. Brayden ate & then fell back to sleep so we ate & then decided that we needed to run some errands. We decided to wait until Brayden ate again before we went so we wouldn't have a repeat of Saturday....

Lance & Brayden relaxing on the sofa after he ate....love these 2 sooooo much!!

While we were out we grabbed lunch, ran to Target & to TJ Maxx & can I say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the clothes for babies at TJ Maxx; we got Brayden the cutest Calvin Klein & Polo outfits for next to nothing!!

Lance had to run out & get his truck cleaned & get pumpkins so that we could get some pictures of Brayden with them; we were going to do the whole pumpkin patch thing but figured Brayden wouldn't care either way. We didn't do much else the rest of the day really, we just relaxed, watched football, Transformers (yummy Josh Duhmal) & ate.....I feel like I ate all day Sunday!

Here are a few of the pictures we took.....Brayden wasn't really in the mood for any of these so no smiles :(





I wish that we had one of the 3 of us together!!

We Have Poop....

It finally happened this morning around 6:30...I think it was because Brayden heard me telling a co-worker that if he didn't go soon that I was going to stick dynamite (a suppository) in his booty!!

My first call was to Lance who was as excited as I was that it finally happened & then I told everyone in the office that he pooped as they got in & I was surprised how excited & happy everyone was for Brayden as well as for Lance & I. It has been a very long week for the Goodson Family & we are looking forward to a nice & restful weekend hopefully without the belly ache screaming & crying (poor guy) from our little man now that he has worked out the "big one"!!

I do have to say that I am amazed at how his poop; or lack there of; has ruled our lives for the last week......it really is all we have talked about & prayed for. Even though it has been a hard week I still feel so blessed & thank god for Lance & Brayden everyday....life has defiantly changed in the last 11 (almost 12) weeks & I wouldn't change one minute of it!!

Brayden's Day With Dad.....

Brayden spend Wednesday with his daddy; here are some pictures. They went to lunch with JuJu & PaPa & I just love the outfit Lance picked out for him....typical man choice!!

With his JuJu & PaPa



The outfit his daddy picked out for him.....



He grabs at the ring that hangs from his octopus & holds on for dear life!!




This is how I dress him!!


His First Taste Of Apple Juice.....he loves it!!


He always has his fists up like he is ready to fight.

Juice Fail.

I think I am going to need to get a stick of dynamite to get this boy to poop. I gave him the apple-prune juice yesterday & I think it actually made things worse; he pooped yesterday morning (nuggets of course) but hasn't gone since.....NOT EVEN ONE little nugget!! The most frustrating thing is the damn doctor telling me that this is "normal" & it will work itself out; I am sure it will but do you realize that our little boy is only 11 weeks old & he is in pain & just wants some relief.......

BIG NEWS!!!!!

Brayden has still let the "big one" go yet but I think that the apple-prune juice that he enjoyed this morning is going to do the trick today...HOPEFULLY!!

Anyway on to my "BIG NEWS"; early this morning (about 1am) I hear Brayden over the monitor moving around & talking & then all of a sudden I hear music start to play as well.....I was half asleep so it took me a minute but once I realized what I was hearing I jumped up & looked for Lance & the pups (for a second I thought that maybe one on our dogs was in his crib...crazy I know but I was half asleep) in our room because WHO turned on the music if we were all in the bedroom sleeping?? WHO was in his room with him?? I threw the covers off, jumped out of bed & ran into Brayden's room only to find that he had scooted himself down to the end of the crib & kicked the aquarium music & light thingy on all by himself. I know what you are thinking & yes I am sure that he did it the first time but I sat there & watched him & when it turned off he kicked it back on again.........my little boy wanted to watch the darn fish move & listen to some tunes so he took care of it himself!!! Our little man is a genius to be able to do this at only 11.5 weeks of age right??

I am so proud of him......even if it was on accident!!!!

So Maybe It's Not Apple Juice.....

Poor little man is still in pain & still has not pooped anything other than marble sized hard nuggets...GRRRRR!!! He is home with his daddy today & if he still hasn't gone by the time he wakes again I am going to have Lance go to the store & get him some prune juice. The doctor said that was an option yesterday but I thought that might be a little to harsh on Brayden but now I have changed my mind all together!!! I feel so bad for him & just pray that he feels better very soon!!

On that note, I am having a hard time finding balance in my new mommy life. I am so tired all the time & I just feel like I don't take care of little man, the pups or Lance the way that I need too. I love them all so much & just feel like I am doing everything half ass because I am exhausted! It is amazing to have Brayden here at work with me but taking care of him & trying to work at the same time is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

I know that the last few days have been tough because he is having his belly issues but I just feel like it is always something & is always going to be something....he is a baby & that is just the way that it is. When I am doing work I feel like I am neglecting Brayden & when I am playing & taking care of Brayden I am neglecting my job. Then at home I don't have time or opportunity to show the pups much attention lately & I don't even really see Lance anymore. By the time he gets home from work at 8:30 both Brayden & I are dead asleep; I try to wake up when I hear him come in but I can only manage to say hey & tell him I love & miss him very much.

What do I do?? Lance says that I should just quite but we decided when I was told that I could bring Brayden to work with me that I wouldn't even consider doing that until he was about 6 months old. By the time he is 6 months old we figured we could have money a good bit of money in savings "just in case" something happened...I mean the economy stinks & we can't trust that things won't get worse before they get better & if Lance lost his job we would be screwed!!!

I don't know what to do & I am just starting to feel like a bad mother (to Brayden & the pups), wife & caregiver to my family all together....

And The Answer To Baby Constipation Is.....

100% fruit juice (from the baby section of course)!! Our pediatrician said that if I give him about 2 oz. of 100% fruit juice diluted with 1 oz. of water it will help him go potty finally……….I am off to the store once he wakes from his much needed nap!!

Still Waiting....

I don't think I have talked about poop so much in my life but it has taken over every conversation that Lance & I have....it would be funny if it wasn't so painful for little man!

We are still waiting & I have a call into his pediatrician to see what we can do to help him since it has been so long & I can't watch him in pain like this anymore!! I don't think that there is much that they can do but I have to ask!!

On a lighter note; here's Little Man this morning in his 1st pair of overalls......

Brayden's First Hat....

is so adorable!! It has been getting colder so I went on the hunt for a hat last Thursday & this is the only hat I could find at Babies R Us that would fit him & I love it!!!

Brayden's Poor Belly......

So, Brayden is now on soy formula because they think he has a milk allergy & I knew that his little belly would probably need some time to adjust to the soy but holy hell was he a grumpy young man this weekend!! We started the soy last Thursday afternoon after his doctor's appointment & Friday he was happy as usual although I did notice his poop was a bit hard both times that day.....the reason I know this so well is because I had to collect it for the doctor to test...YUCK!!

Anyway, he went to bed Friday night as usual & then Saturday we spent the day shopping with JuJu & he was so good the whole time we were at the mall & OH MY GOODNESS the clothes & hats we got for him......I will have to post pictures as he wears them :) We got home from the mall about 3 & he was getting a bit fussy but I thought he was just tired but as the night went on I could tell his little belly cramping & his little poops were not normal.....he was straining so hard & all that was coming out was little marble shaped hard nuggets. I felt so bad for him but once he would get a little bit out he would seem to feel better so I was sure that the "big one" was coming & once it did he would feel soooo much better.....well it is Monday afternoon @ 2:51 & the "big one" still has not come!!

We were going to go to dinner Saturday with Lance's parents but when I was putting Brayden in his car seat he let out the worst most painful squeal I had ever heard so I took him out of the seat, gave him his bath & rocked him until he fell asleep. He slept for a few hours & then would be up for about 2 hours & then would fall back asleep & so on & so on......

Yesterday we had some friends over to watch the Giants game (which sucked) & poor Baby Brayden was having the worst day he has ever had. All he wanted was for me to hold him.....so I did & then once he would fall asleep I would lay him down & get about a 30 minute break & then he was up fussing & straining again & it was so sad & heart breaking to watch. I broke out into tears last night at about 6 because I felt like a horrible mom; he was in so much pain & there was nothing I could do to help him....it was his colic times 10. It is just so sad to open his diaper & pray that there is more than just 1 little marble sized nugget in there!!!

He was up & down all night last night again so today I am exhausted (Lance had a bad stomach ache himself so he couldn't help much last night), trying to work & also trying to take care of my poor little man who still can't get the "big one" out of his little booty!! I love him so much & just keep praying that tonight he will get some good rest tonight & finally have a good bowel movement! Keep your fingers crossed for him!!

Brayden & I spend a good bit of Sunday in this chair.....




Brayden in his new sweatpants....



Brayden's 1st pair of jeans & love this hat to death, but as you can see he is not happy at all!!

Go Giants....

Lance & I may not agree on our what NFL team Brayden should route for every Sunday but last Sunday Brayden & I showed him that we are on the same page!! He looked so cute in his Eli Manning jersey!!



At least Lance & I route for the same quarterback family since he is a Colts fan!!

What An Amazing Start To My Day......

I have been so tired this week; Brayden has not been feeling well so on Monday & Tuesday I slept on the sofa!! Brayden would not sleep anywhere other than my arms or his swing...not to mention the fact that he was spitting up so much that I was nervous about him laying on his back so I gave in & he slept in his swing in the living room both nights. Wednesday night I finally got him to sleep in his crib but about 10 minutes after I laid him down he spit up so bad & so violently that it popped all over his face & even came out of his nose so needless to say he was scared & I was freaked out but I got him back to sleep in his swing & then back in his crib about 9 that night so I actually slept in our bed but was up & down all night checking on him. Yesterday I finally made the doctor see him......they think that all the mucus in his spit up & his congestion is a small cold but mainly a milk allergy so we have switch the little man to Enfamil Soybee formula & hope that this helps him! It seems to have helps since he slept from 6-4:30 this morning.....I wish that I could say that I slept well too but I was still worried & nervous so I was up & down again all night!!

In all of this Lance has been wonderful, I have snapped at him a few times & he has taken it like a champ. I was so tired & frustrated yesterday that nothing he did or said made me feel better & that is all I wanted him to do is make me feel better.......I was not being fair to him & some of the things I said I wish I could take back. I mean I didn't verbally attack him or anything but I did have a razor sharp tongue & was sharp with my answers & comments!! He is such an amazing man, father & husband....he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes & I love him so much.

This morning I got up as usual & got ready for work & when I opened the bathroom door the light shines on the bed & I just stared at him sleeping for about 5 minutes...he was sleeping so soundly & he was so handsome & peaceful. I hadn't really seen him much this week because by the time he was getting home from work I was already in bed trying to sleep & as tired as I knew he was I still crawled in bed, curled up next to him & started talking to talk to him to see if he would wake up & he did & it was exactly what I needed!! We laid there & talked for about 10 minutes & then little man must have know we were up because he started talking!! I went & got him & brought him into bed with us & Lance fed him........I just watched as my amazing husband held Brayden so tightly & Lance was just in aw of him!! I wish I had a picture to look at because it was a perfect moment in time that I want to remember always......

This is them last Saturday....I went to get my nails done & this is what they were doing when I got back!! Loves it!!!!

Our Trip To Helen, GA

We went up to walk around with Brayden's JuJu & PaPa & had a great time!!

Best Lunch Ever....

Lance has Brayden today BUT brought him up to see me & take me to lunch....I didn't get to eat much because I was holding Brayden since he was fussy but who cares about food when I am holding him.....NOT ME......it was the best lunch ever!! I can't wait to get home to my boys & give them both big hugs & kisses!!!

This is us in Helen, GA two weeks ago!!

Poor Baby Brayden....

Our poor little boy has just been having a time of it these days!! His colic has been gone for about 3 weeks now.....didn't want to post it & jinx myself though....but he still has what is now being called a "sensitive" stomach, on top of which I think he is getting a cold. I thought that bringing him to work with me would keep this from happening for a while but I guess I don't know anything!!

Over the weekend Brayden had a slight 99.5 temperature so we didn't really do anything other than grocery shop on Saturday & then Sunday we ran out for lunch but other than that we had a nice relaxing family weekend at home (Lance was off all weekend & it was AMAZING to finally spend time with just him & Brayden). Then yesterday morning I fed him just like normal.....burped him just like normal....& then laid him down for his early morning nap just like normal. But then NOT like NORMAL I hear him screaming all of a sudden & look at the monitor on my desk & see his face is wet & then run into the nursery & he has spit up so forcefully that it must have shot out of his mouth & because it was all over his face & under him!! I freaked out & picked him up & he was fine right away but holy cow.....I laid him on his changing pad to clean him up & he was smiling & happy so I calmed down & just went on to play & do his tummy time. I did take his temperature when I changed his diaper just to make sure it didn't change & it was 99.1 so it had gone down a bit.

We were playing on his mat & all of a sudden he projectile spit up again & this time it had a huge chunk of mucus in it so I freaked out, cleaned him up again & called the doctor's office so that someone can call me when they get in. In that time of waiting he ate again & spit up the mucus milk again, so I called them instead of waiting for them to call me & oh yeah took his temperature again it is has gone down & is completely normal by now!! The Kaiser advise nurse told me to make sure that he is sitting up more when I am feeding him & then prop him up for at least 20 minutes after each feeding from here on out.........nothing worked & he spit up mucus all day yesterday & there was nothing we could do for him! They told me to get pedialyte & give that to him when I got home in the hopes that it would calm his stomach but alas that did not work either but at least he spit up down my shirt that time & not on himself since I had just finished his bath & getting him in his pj's when I did the pedialyte!! The doctor said that I don't need to bring him in unless he seems dehydrated or his temperature goes over 100.5 but I swear he is getting a cold & sounds congested!

We decided to let him sleep in his swing last night & we slept on the sofa because we were so afraid he was going to "pop off/spit up" while we were asleep & we wouldn't hear him plus his swing keeps him a bit elevated so if he did spit up he wouldn't choke on it! I feel like a horrible mom being at work today & not at home with Brayden & Lance but I only get one day with out Brayden here with me & it is always a busy, busy non-stop work day; so on top of my busy work day I am having to deal with my exhaustion because all I did was stare at him last night to make sure he was alright!! I did ask Lance to bring him up to see me for lunch so I could see him & make sure that he is alright & so I could also give him some mommy love!! If I still think he sounds congested & is still rubbing his little eyes & nose on top of the spitting up I am going to call the doctor & tell them that they have to see him today!!

I Forgot....

to post Brayden's stats from his 2 month appointment on Monday.......we weighs 13 pounds & is 24 inches long!! He is in the 85th percentile for height & 79th percentile for his weight. He is growing so fast & becoming such a big boy & as much as I know he is going to grow up does he have to keep doing it so fast??

Bryaden Found His Hand....

& I am trying to get a picture of him gumming it to death; he makes the cutest suckling noises when he gets really going on it. It is the sweetest thing to watch him grow & change daily......all I can say is WOW!!

Random Brayden Photos!

Dear God,

Thank you so much for such a wonderful, beautiful & amazing little boy!! I couldn't thank you enough when you blessed me the first time & brought Lance into my life, but to bless me again with Brayden.....words can not express how truly thankful I am!!