5 Month Pictures

These are the pictures we took of Marc around when he was 5 months old (a few days early.) And we didn't get the cute elephant in these pictures either, but oh well - look how handsome he looks! 

 At 5 months Marc was sitting up. He'd fall occasionally, especially when helped by someone we won't mention ;).

 December was also the first month we didn't have to take him to the doctor! YEY!

So we took those pictures right after we took some of these:

I gave all my guys matching ties for Christmas. (They opened them on the Sunday before Christmas though.)

4 Months

At 4 months Marc was 13 lbs 12 oz and 25 inches long. He'd gained enough weight that they didn't reschedule at 5 months, but we can wait until 6! Yey for finally figuring out he needed a bottle at around the 7 PM feeding. When he was born he was about the 25th percentile, and he dropped all the way down to between the 5th and 10th at around 3 months. We're happy he's getting back up to the 25th now!

 He's growing great now! (And this is 2 months behind where we are, but I'm getting closer ;). Now all I have to do is post pictures of what we were doing those months (including some cute ones of Eric!)

3 Months

I'm still playing catch-up... Here's Marc at 3 months (taken on 10/29/12):

Marc is such a smiley baby, it's great to be able to see his smile every day! He loves being around people and is most happy when being held and played with. If we leave him alone for too long (20 minutes or less at 3 months!), he lets us know! He had still not gained quite enough weight at his 2 month appointment so we went in at 3 months as well... but a week or two before that we'd started giving him formula at one feeding in the evening as he was being overly fussy at that point and acting like he wasn't getting enough to eat! At the 3 month appointment he was getting to where they wanted him to be, so we will keep supplementing him. I would have to say it was the most convenient feeding to supplement since it's usually when I get dinner ready ;).

Feeling the need to write

I feel the need to write about a specific topic today (and I will be getting back to updating pictures and what's going on in our lives lately soon) and don't worry it isn't a depressing topic or anything that serious ;). Just something I've been introduced to and come to really love!

What I want to write about it Essential Oils. Crazy, I know. I was introduced to a newer company that has really high quality essential oils a few months ago. We started using them cautiously and have actually found that they work wonderfully. For example: They have a blend that we use on Eric that helps his irregularity (which we had been using grape juice for) and all we use is 1-2 drops per day (when we use them.) Daniel has used the immunity blend when he felt he was getting sick and for a couple of days he just felt like he was going to get sick but it never materialized. I've used them for mood enhancement (because sometimes my 'happy pills' just don't completely cut it - I can't wait until the postpartum depression goes away and I don't envy people who have to deal with this their whole lives - I admire you all!) My little sister has used their breathe blend and it has helped her not be as congested. My mom does notice a difference in how Val's doing when she uses it vs. not. Oh and I also found out that one of the oils does a great job at removing sharpie marker from an almost 4 year old's skin. 

I personally love using these oils as they are natural. The company actually has a university (either U of U or Harvard) do tests on each batch to make sure they are pure and contain chemicals or contaminants. The only down side is that it's a multi-level marketing company... I'm not the hugest fan of them, but I would have to say that with the results we've had from using the oils I really wanted to let you all know about them. If you would like to try them I did sign up to get them at wholesale and would let any of you who are interested have them at cost (25% less than retail).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask (I would be willing to send a small sample of an oil if you would like to try it). After all I was hesitant to try them as well! I also want to say I'm not trying to make money off of this (or I wouldn't offer them at wholesale) - I just felt like sharing because we like using them! (and have found they help.) If you want to see what oils there are - you can find them here. Also if you want to see how they help a specific condition - check it out here (I must warn you that this site references one of the doctors on the company's board a lot and people seem to absolutely adore him, I usually ignore that part of the comments...)

2 Months - September

 I know, I'm so behind, but now that Christmas is over I'm going to try to get updated ;). Marc turned 2 months at the end of September. In September I crazily decided to host a neighborhood barbecue. Besides not having everything totally organized and on time, it went pretty well. But I also decided that hosting a party-type thing is not a plan with a less than 2 month old baby ;). Eric enjoyed having a play date about every week as well. There is another couple in our congregation that have a baby boy (about 2 months older than Marc) as well as a son about a year younger than Eric. They enjoy playing together.

I can be thankful that my emotions were a bit more stable in September than in August, the medication that we tried first worked for the PPD. My emotions can still get the better of me more than I am use to, but at least it is better than it was! 

We had my 6 week checkup and everything was great. We also took Marc in for his 2 month check up and he was still not gaining quite as much weight as they would have liked, so we scheduled one for 3 months. At his 2 Month check-up, Marc was 9 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long.

Eric really loves his brother and loves to hug, kiss and otherwise show affection to him. He also occasionally would hit Marc as well, but I suppose that is normal, unfortunately. Luckily he mostly wanted to show affection instead of aggression. Sometimes I was worried about Eric smothering Marc with loves!  

2 Month Photos:

 I can never take pictures of Marc without Eric needing to be involved!

1 Month

Marc at 1 Month (you know, back in August). We went into the doctor for a weight check for him around 1 month, and I didn't write down what he weighed, but I'm pretty sure he was at 8 lbs 1 oz.

At two weeks he weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces and was 20.5 inches.

1 week old

My two boys at one week old...