Aiden's first solids

So at the 4-month "well check" doctor's appointment, our pediatrician said Aiden is ready to start solids. So very exciting!!!! I've been working with him on controlling his neck (requirement for starting solids). I'm so excited that we're progressing as expected!

We gave him four table spoons of Gerber rice cereal mixed with breast milk. He LOVED it. I was of course very very nervous giving it to him. I looked forward to it all day and at 4 pm today, he had his first solid food. Now, solid is a relative term because according to the pediatrician's instructions solid means "runny yogurt" consistancy.

While Aiden loved the rice cereal he had a hard time keeping it in his mouth. A lot of it kept pouring out of the sides of his mouth.

Aiden's stats at the 4-month check:

weight 15 lbs 6 oz
height 25 inches
controls head; when laying on his stomach he picks his head up 90 degrees
keeps eye contact
smiles a lot and coos

tummy time!

So my pediatrician has put the fear of death in me with this "tummy time" stuff. She stresses about a 1,000 times how important it is for Aiden to get lots of tummy time. She says otherwise he won't be able to start solids in a couple of months and he won't learn to crawl. So the neurotic mom that I am, I give Aiden lots and lots of tummy time although he absolutely hates being on his tummy. As soon as I put him down on his tummy he fusses which makes me uncomfortable and uptight.


Ya know what? I think there truly is a "mom gene" that lowers women's tolerance for a baby crying. Every time Aiden starts crying I have this urgent need to comfort him and stop the crying. Adam on the other hand can totally stay calm even if Aiden is screaming his head off. Aiden will be screaming bloody murder and Adam is just sitting next to him calmly reading his book. I don't know how he does it. It must be the "dad gene". The picture below shows Adam holding a screaming and crying baby Aiden and instead of calming him, Adam continues to tease Aiden because he think he looks cute when he cries (i'm shaking my head as I write this).

a cowboy and a sailor

We went to Dullah's house for dinner. It was really nice to relax and have everyone else (mom, dad, Dullah, and Natalie) care for Aiden. My mom cooked a really big meal and we all sat around playing with Aiden, shooting pool, and watching TV. Ever since Aiden was born I feel like I don't get out much. Its so cold out these days, I feel guilty when I take Aiden out so I try to stay in as much as possible.

I snapped this shot of Bobba and Aiden right after Bobba randomly picked up a hat that someone had left around and put it on his head. The sailor outfit Aiden is wearing is something I picked up for him only because it was made of a sweater material that I thought would keep him warm....now, I love it. Its also Adam's favorite outfit of Aiden's.

hanging out in their white T's

I love these two pictures of Adam and Aiden. Notice how they're both wearing white t-shirts. Adam was getting ready for work but before he got dressed, he spent some quality time with his little man. I can just imagine them being very close as Aiden grows up.

poor kid has gas

Aiden has been crying more than usual and I think it's due to gas. Desperate to anything to calm him, I think I've invented a new technique or remedy.

To relieve his gas, I simply lay him on his back in a warm comfortable room. I remove his diaper (so he feels totally comfortable), and move his legs like he's riding a bicycle upside down(doing big circles) for about a minute. Then I message his belly gently and do the bicycle some more. After two or three iterations of massage followed by air bicycle, I put his legs together and I bend them at the knee and gently push his legs agains his abdomen. After a couple of gental pushes he starts to pass gas. I continue until a he's passed gas 3 or 4 times. I figure that's a significant amount of gas expulsion and it should give him some relief.

2 month check-up

Today was Aiden's two-month check up. He's doing great and growing like a weed. His stats were: weight 12 lbs. 10 oz. and height was 23 3/4 in. Little man is definitely growing. He did well on the development test - holding his neck up, making eye contact, etc. I give him only breast milk and he's nursing well....almost too well.

clean and ready for bed

Here's Aiden after his bath and baby massage. We have a nice bedtime routine now and he regularly goes to bed by 7pm. After dinner at 5:30 he gets at bath at about 6 pm. After dinner I play/talk to him for a little while and then bath starts at 6:30. After bath he gets a baby massage and then I dress him for bed. At 6:45 I nurse him until about 7 and then he goes down for the night. As far as night time feeding goes, he wakes up every 3 to 4 hours until he wakes up for the day at 8 am.

Aiden visits Platinum

I took Aiden into the office with me today. The little boss arrived in his infant carrier. I had dreamed about this day for a long time and I was excited to show him off. As you can see from this picture, Adam was also a very proud Poppa.

Aiden's first trip to the beach

We had a nice quiet weekend at the beach over New Years.  This was Aiden's first trip to the beach and it was like 38 degrees with a wind chill of like 10 degrees. Needless to say, we didn't do much outside but we sure relaxed and enjoyed the indoors. 

Aiden was a pretty fussy yesterday and today - I'm guessing its his tummy. Just look at those eyes that have been crying for about half and hour now. I've been giving him Mylicon before each feeding but it doesn't seem to do much for him. I'm thinking that maybe he is affected by me eating dairy. I am going to do an experiment starting this week and cut out all dairy from my diet. Maybe that will help little man.  I'll keep y'all posted.

the best feeling in the world is...

...this little dude sleeping peacefully on my chest.

So we have this pattern thing going now - first, I play with him (kiss him, talk to him, look into his eyes), then I usually change his diaper (always pee and poop), then he fusses meaning he wants to eat, then I feed him but he always falls asleep nursing. After about an hour of sleep, he wakes up and I change him and feed him again.

Sometimes I can get some work done with Aiden sleeping on my chest - things like thank you cards (Aiden got tons of baby presents) and my daily log of Aiden's feedings and other activities. That's why I have a pen in my hand in this picture...

By the way, it snowed yesterday and it's freezing cold outside. Our front steps are frozen solid and I can hear the wind whipping on our deck. Being home safe and warm with the baby is very cozy.

a brand new uncle

Uncle Dullah likes to come over and take naps with Aiden. I still can't believe Dullah's an "uncle" but then I can hardly believe that Adam and I are "Mom" and "Dad". Anyway, we're all enjoying our new titles.

Aiden's two week well check

Height: 21 inches
Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz.
HC: 14 5/8 inches

aiden meets his grand parents

daily journal entry 12/7/05

Aiden arrived home from the hospital on December 6th. Bobba Steve had already arranged for teh stork announcement in our drive way. What an awesome surprise to come home to.

It was a very very cold day so we rushed Aiden into the house. I wished it wasn't so cold our so that we could have showed him off to the neighbors.

12:00 am - Diaper Change (DC) - Pee and Poop
1:00 am - nursed 35 minutes
1:05 am - DC - Pee and Poop
4:00 am - DC - Pee and Poop
4:15 am - nursed 33 minutes
4:45 am - DC - poop only
4:45 am -nursed 15 minutes
7:00 am - nursed 15 minutes, DC - pee and poop
8:00 am - nursed 20 minutes, DC - pee and poop
8:45 am - nursed 10 minutes
11:30 am - nursed 20 minutes, DC pee and poop
12:20 pm - nursed 15 minutes
2:20 pm - nursed 15 minutes
3:30 pm - nursed 40 minutes
7:45 pm - nursed 30 minutes
9:00 pm - nursed 20 minutes, pee and poop
11:45 pm -nursed 20 minutes, pee and poop

Aiden's first bath

We gave Aiden his first bath today. Okay, let me just confess right off the bat, I was super nervous giving him this bath. Even though Adam and his mom were there with me, I was very anxious. His skin looks so red and vulnerable that I'm afraid to even rub it gently. Aiden cried some and that made me even more nervous. The umbilical cord hasn't fallen off yet so I have to be extra careful.

As soon as the bath was over, he was happy and calm. After I dressed him and brushed his hair he was ready to eat AGAIN. This kids nurses non-stop. I feel like I spend the entire day either nursing him or getting ready to nurse him.


After I fed him, he took a nap on Adam's chest.

the first hour

Words can't describe the first hour after Aiden was born but I'll try. The first time I saw Aiden was when the doctors carried him from the surgery table (I had a c-section) to the baby station. All I saw was a baby's back, arms up and out, long legs stretching and kicking, and he was all wet and covered with blood (from my surgery). Since his hair was wet it sort of looked curly and dark. I couldn't believe my eyes, this was the little baby that was in my stomach all this time. I heard the nurse say "baby boy, 1:11 am, December 2nd, 2005".

Since Aiden didn't cry immediately, I ask Adam what was wrong and with his voice cracking and tears in his eyes Adam said "he looks perfect, nothing's wrong". The nurses cleaned Aiden and I saw the doctors checking him out. Dr. Hodges came over and said, he looks like a really good looking boy. I heard another nurse say "8 lbs 5 oz, 20 inches long, APGARS 8 and 9". I was relieved and happy to hear his APGARS. They then wheeled me to the recovery room where I waited 20 minutes for Aiden. That twenty minutes seemed like an eternity. Then Adam came over and said he had watched the nurses clean the baby and that he looked great - five fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot. The nurse then brought Aiden over to me and Adam took the picture above. Then I took the first picture of Adam and Aiden together. The picture I took of Adam and Aiden was not from a good angle because I still couldn't feel my legs or sit up. After Adam and I had a good chance to see Aiden, my mom, dad, and Natalie came into the room.

the night before

My doctor had made an appointment for us at Fair Oaks hospital on December 1st, at 6:30 am. Since Aiden was ten days over due, they were going to induce me on the 1st. For days before the scheduled induction date we cleaned house (over and over again), organized every closet in the house.  We cleaned and organized the garage (even painted the floor). We went grocery shopping and stocked or shelves...preparing for lots and lots of visitors after our arrival from the hospital. Every night before bed, I spent time in the nursery, folding and refolding the babies clothes.  Just incase, I had packed my hospital bag 3 weeks before the official due date.  So the night before, I re-inventoried my hospital bag.  I packed some additional magazines, our iPod, and snacks for Adam. We went to bed early but neither one of us could sleep for hours. I got up several times and search various baby topics on the internet. Finally at 5:30 am I got Adam up and we got showered and dressed for the hospital. It was only a 10 minute drive to the hospital but we were anxious as could be. Adam even missed the turn once because he was so wired. The check in at the hospital was thorough but way too long. The anticipation was killing me. Finally after tons of paperwork, we were assigned to our private "birthing room". Adam was very insistent that we do not allow others in the birthing room. At about 8:30 I was "induced" which meant they gave me Pitocin through an IV in my arm. Then we waited and waited. The entire day went by and we made no progress. Finally, at 9 pm they gave up and recommended that we go through with a c-section.  Adam felt strongly that we should wait (he didn't want to put me through surgery). The doctor agreed but said, if not now, we will definitely have to do a c-section if the baby doesn't arrive by 10 or 11 pm.  Finally at 11 pm Adam and I conceded and decided we couldn't wait any longer and asked for the doctor. However, our doctor was called to Fairfax hospital for another surgery so we had to wait again. Finally, our doctor made it back to our hospital at 12:30 and "scrubbed" for surgery. I was wheeled into surgery at 12:45 and the baby arrived by c-section at 1:11 am.

the purchase of the beach house

It still seems unreal to me that we bought this beach house. While it's in an awesome location( across the street from the beach) and in a nice neighborhood it requires A LOT of work inside and outside. This house is the definition of a "fixer upper" or I guess in today's terms a "flip house" except we don't intend to just "flip" it.

The house is actually a "duplex" and we have right side (look at the picture). It has three bedroom and two and half baths. It has a good size garage, a driveway upfront and very large driveway in the back.

As you can see, the house has been neglected for a while...the deck is old and falling apart, the paint on the house is faded and chipping, the grass is overgrown, and the prickly pair cactus is taking over the flower beds.

It has a two level deck in the front and good size deck in the back. The house gets a nice sun in the front and a comfortable shade in the back.

Adam and I plan on spending 10 days doing as much fixing and cleaning as possible. What remains, we'll get to on the weekends.

What do real estate moguls tell you the secret is? location, location, location! We got this one right!

This is the beach right in front of our house.

He's actually very happy it's just that the sun is in his eyes...or maybe he's just dreading the work that needs to be done on the house.


This is actually the bay so the water tends to be a little calmer than the rest of Virginia Beach.

You know you're close to the beach when your front yard is more sand than grass!

The neighbors are very nice. I think they're happy to finally have someone fix and occupy this house. They told us that the house sat vacant for almost three years.


This is the back driveway and deck. As you can see, we have plenty of parking.

I love the backyard of this house. It's so peaceful and pretty. So in the front it's a beach house but in the back it's a lake house.


The back driveway...

This is the lake in the back. The lake is full of turtles so we call it "turtle lake".

Adam's 30th suprise birthday party

goodbye to annandale

My room!!! I did lot of thinking in this room. A LOT of thinking. I also did a lot of dreaming, praying, and snoring. ; )

The kitchen...I can't even imagine the number of dinners cooked in this kitchen. I can tell you that I probably washed an equal number of loads of dishes in that sink!

Some mornings we'd even have breakfast on the deck...it felt like we were on vacation somewhere special.

Here's the back/side yard. We spent a lot of time back here grilling out and hanging out. This was definitely Mom and Dad's little piece of heaven.


That's the sunroom off the deck. I remember Mom and Dad were very excited about that room but it turned out to be not such a great investment. In the summer it got too hot and in the winter it got too cold...there were basically a few days in the Spring and Fall that the room would get used but otherwise, the doors remained shut.

You can also see our little vegetable and herb garden where my Dad grew tomatoes, cucumbers, mint, and lots of peppers...hot hot peppers.

That's my first BMW....loved that car! Sold it Oct 2005, right before Aiden was born so that I could upgrade to an SUV.


Home Sweet Home!

I used to think this front yard was huge. We used to kick the soccer ball around and pass the football across the yard.


I was the designated lawn mowing person for this house...mainly because I liked mowing the lawn. It was a good work out and a chore that no one else cared to do.


That's my Dad's garden in the front yard. He worked on that garden daily as soon as he got home from work. Sometimes he wouldn't even come in the house until he worked in that garden for a while.


When I think of home, this is the picture I have in my head - this house in Annandale with my Mom and Dad standing there...the only thing that's missing my is Abdullah and a random football laying around and an old flat soccer ball.

I was so sad to see this house empty.