A Post About Teeth

I had an orthodontist appointment last week where it was confirmed that I get my braces off on January 5th! Yay!!! I'm really, really excited. I have been in orthodontic care for 3 years now and have had the braces for 2.5 years. It is time to be done with it!

In completely related news, Jude already has his first two teeth! He got his first one a week before Christmas and I felt the second one on Christmas morning. Here is a picture from a couple of days before Christmas where you can definitely see one tooth and I can even see a little of the second tooth about to pop through:

Ok, I'm not sure if you can see it on the blog, but it's really obvious on the picture on my hard drive :) I guess you'll have to take my word for it for now. I'm sure there will be more tooth pictures in the future. Maybe I'll try to get one of us together after the braces come off!

Baby + Christmas = Toys Galore!

Jude's first Christmas went very well. He was spoiled by our families, of course. Knowing that, Ray and I kept our gift buying very light. All Jude got from us was sippy cups and "Where the Sidewalk Ends".

On Christmas Eve, we went to my parents' house and met up with all of my siblings. My family does a name exchange that I insisted Jude be a part of (and requested that his only gift be the name exchange gift). Aunt Liz got Jude's name and still managed to spoil him! He received a musical seahorse, two books, a teether, two cute onesies, and an ornament from Aunt Liz. Of course, that also meant that Jude had to give a gift - he bought Uncle Neil a shop vac. He also got an outfit, ornament, and Toy R Us gift card from Grandma and Grandpa.


On Christmas Day, we had Ray's family over. I really think we need to start a name exchange with Ray's family because I can't even list everything that Jude received from that side of the family. A picture will have to do:


What a lucky little boy! I think Jude would have to say that it was a great first Christmas.

Blizzard Aiden

Thanks to Aunt Leah, Jude was completely prepared for his first blizzard (it is seriously an awesome snowsuit!):



I think we need to work on the snow angel skills! Jude has the laying down part all figured out. Waving the arms and legs? Not so much.

The 17-pound, 12-ounce Baby

Jude had his 4-month doctor appointment last Friday where it was determined that, at 17lb, 12oz, he is at 91% of average for weight. He is now at 69% for height as well - he amazingly grew longer at an even faster rate than growing chunkier! (not sure that sentence even makes sense)

Jude's fourth month of life included a lot of firsts (although I guess his previous three months also contained a lot of firsts).

Jude's first Thanksgiving (picture with Grandpa Pete):


Jude's first snowfall:


...which was soon followed by Jude's first cold. No picture for that one! Jude also spent his fourth month starting to sit and stand with assistance, learning to laugh, meeting his Uncle Tom, and deciding that everything except a bottle belongs in his mouth.

Jude's First Halloween

I've never been a big fan of Halloween - too much blood, gore, demons, etc. I wasn't sure I was even going to do the trick-or-treating thing when I had kids. Jude's first Halloween, however, included dressing up and trick-or-treating! Jude went with his two cousins, Malia and Bennett. It was a fun, family time, and if we have started a tradition, I guess Jude will get to trick-or-treat every year after all!




Month 3
Jude's third month of life found all three of us (Ray, Jude, and me) starting to get used to living together. Jude has continued to be an excellent nighttime sleeper (10.5 to 11.5 hours every night) and a not-so-good napper. It makes it hard to get things done during the day, but I'll take it if it means getting a good nights' sleep.

Jude is also crying a lot less, usually only when he is hungry or tired (the colic is definitely over with - yay!!!). He smiles quite a bit, loves to make bubbles, and is just starting the "drooly" stage. With three months of life under his belt, he is also ready to start grabbing and holding things - bringing them straight to his mouth, of course!

The first three months of a baby's life are often called "the fourth trimester" and I would definitely agree. It was hard, especially the first two months. I have to admit that I am glad we are past that stage and I'm enjoying my son more and more every day!

Jude is a Talker!

Jude is now doing a lot more "talking" and it's so fun to listen to him coo and babble!

A video taken today:

Two Months With Jude

Definitely one of the hardest things about having a newborn is all of the hours spent awake in the middle of the night and the subsequent sleep shortage (for mom). Luckily, this starts to improve rather quickly. I don't think I've had to get up more than once a night since Jude was a month old. Jude turned two months yesterday, and last night was the second night that I did not have to get up AT ALL!!! Last night Jude slept his longest yet - 11.5 hours. Let's hope this continues :)

Jude is still a pretty fussy, high-needs baby, but he is getting better. He is definitely more interested in the world around him, which sometimes keeps him occupied. He is also smiling more, and I finally (sort-of) have a few pictures!




Jude's two-month pediatrician's appointment is on Friday and we'll get to find out exactly how big our cute, chubby baby is.

Oh, yeah, and the cloth diapering is going really well. The first couple of weeks after Jude was born, I was too sleep-deprived and overwhelmed to even think about cloth diapering. I finally got everything washed up when Jude was 3 or 4 weeks old. I tried the prefolds and really didn't like how wet they felt against Jude's skin. I'm a huge fan of the pocket diapers, though, and have been buying those used in the larger sizes as I come across good deals. With how much time I've spend searching for diapers on Ebay, I think I qualify as an addict!

Now to get past the colicky stage...