Simon's Visitor's in May

Here are a the people that came to visit Simon! There were a few more but mom has those pictures or I haven't had a chance to download them from my phone.

Grampa!

Gamma!

Jennifer

Josh and Vicki

Erica and Alan

These are all going into his baby book but I am documenting them here as well so that it will be easier for me later on.

Simon's Growth: 1 Month Photo Shoot

On June 19 Simon became one month old!

"I still don't like this Mommy!"

"Maybe if I pretend to fall asleep they will stop"

"Yo!"

Things Simon has accomplished this month:

-Clasping his hands
-Finally at the very end of his first month he decided it was okay to sleep outside of mommies arms, still not fully in the crib but showing signs that mommy may be able to sleep in her bedroom again.
-As the month has gone on he has become much more awake and alert
-Still makes the goose noises
-He has decided he likes the swing under very certain circumstances which mommy has yet to figure out
-Likes the Moby and car seat
-Poos and Pees like a pro

Stats:

Weight: 9 1/2 lbs

Length: 22 1/4 inches

Simon's Growth: Birthday Photo Shoot

Just like I did with the pregnancy belly I am going to take pictures of Simon on a monthly basis next to a stuffed animal on the same chair to see how he grows month to month. Simon's stuffed animal is a big yellow duck!

Here he is after he was born:

"Mommy I don't like this!"

"Maybe if I pretend that I am hungry this nonsense will stop"

Initial stats:

Weight: 7lbs 13 oz

Length: 21 1/2 inches

Some nicknames/terms of endearment Simon has been given...

From me:

-Goosey Goose (he makes goose noises)

-Goosey Goosey Love bucket

-Love Bucket

-Honey bunches of Oats

- Fuzz

-Sye-man the pie man

-Sye-man

-Chubby Cheekers

-At the hospital I was calling him my little "bambino"

From Brian:

-Baby man

Charleston Weekend

This weekend we went to charleston to visit my parents and to get the second long awaited picture of Simon and Benjamin. We left Friday for Charleston and came back Sunday. Simon did great! 

Friday was really hard for him but he is a trooper. He had to put up with a two hour dentist appointment and then the two hour drive. He woke up furious in Mt Pleasant but once at Gamma's and Grampa's house he was fed and then fine. Friday night was fantastic! I got to sleep in a bed without Simon! He spent some time in their bassinet and the rest in his car seat.

Saturday was much more relaxed. He realized he did like the Moby wrap, took bailey for a walk and ran a few errands. Saturday night we had will over for dinner. Simon's sleep schedule was again unchanged and this was night #2 where I got to sleep in a bed without him. I might actually be able to move into the master before I go back to work!

Sunday we just hung out until it was time to go. My parents new friend Susan came over to visit which was a lot of fun!. Simon handled the car ride well again and then we just chilled at home. Sunday night was night #3 of sleeping in a bed without Simon!

Here are some pictures of Simon and the dogs. I have not picked which picture of Simon and Benjamin I'm going to use so this one is going to be one of the choices.

Simon's First Solid Food

A week or so ago Blair and Allyson were in town for their brothers graduation. While they were in town they decided to go wedding dress shopping for Blair's wedding dress and they invited Simon and me to join them.

The whole outing was fun and a success. While out we stopped at a restaurant for lunch. While eating Simon decided that it was his time to eat as well so off we went to the bathroom as I'm breast feeding. 

When he was finished and while I was getting myself put back together I notice something falling on simon's head. When I looked over I saw that it was a black bug.   By the time I could get my arms free the bug had quickly crawled into simon's mouth. Of course Simon chooses this moment to close his mouth and swallow. I'm now exclaiming "you ate a bug! You ate a bug!".

So Simons first solid food was a bug.

Brian as a father

i have always known that Brian would be a good father but I was not sure what type of father he would be.

He is always willing and happy to hold Simon. He talks to Simon, walks him around the house, changes diapers, tries to calm him down when all he wants is me, and helps with bath time.

On top of all that he takes care of me as most of the time Simon won't leave my arms. He brings me food, water, tucks me in at night since my bedroom is now the living room, and has been making our meals. 

Most of what makes me smile about Brian being a dad is his interaction with Simon. Most is hard to describe. The tone of his voice, the way he holds Simon, the smile that he gets. 

Brian is a better father than even I hoped for.

Pictures of Simon

I am debating on posting my birth story. I have it in note form on my phone and I definitely have to write it out. Once it is fully written I will decide if I am going to post it here. It did not go as planned, and while that is true for everyone, I just don't look back on it as a good experience. I got my wonderful Simon and that is all that matters and it is nice to know that everything that did go....differently...was not of my control but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

So...on to pictures of my cutie pie! They are completely out of sequence but oh well :)

Simon!

An exhausted Daddy with Simn

My grey eyed baby boy :)

So tiny in that crib!

I love those chubby cheeks!

Daddy talking to Simon

Nap time on Daddy!

The wrong person is sleeping....

First family photo

Doing his best trick: smacking those lips!

Bath time!

The hair comes from Brian's side of the family

My little pirate

Kisses for the world!

One of my all time favorite pictures

He is a great sleeper

All clean with his fluffy hair!

My little man with his Vulcan ear

Baby's first outfit!

Before and After Labor

Here is my before and after labor. This is mostly for my records but figured that since you have all been on this journey with me you might want to see this as well. Plus I was always curious to see what a belly truly does look like after birth so I am showing off mine as an example.

Key notes:

-I only gained 31 lbs
-Simon was 7lb 13 oz so between him and everything else that goes on I lost about 10 lbs automatically
-I have been exclusively breastfeeding since he was born

As we left for the hospital:

After (May 22, three days after birth):

Three days after birth with Simon:

Can you believe that big thing was in my belly? He was actually head down for the majority of the pregnancy I just didn't think it would be smart to hold him head down :). Also, I do have stretch marks...no more bikini's for me!

As of right now, my belly is basically gone. I definitely need to work on my abs when I am physically able to but I am back in my pre-pregnancy jeans. And not my "half way through my weight loss" jeans..the jeans I was wearing right before I got pregnant. I had to go to a doctors appointment on May 29 and at that point I was only 11 lbs away from my pre pregnancy weight. Not bad!