Tell me your thoughts...

Our little lion man is pushing 15 pounds and 24 inches.  He is one big 3 month old.  So big we are moving through diaper sizes a lot quicker than expected.  He is also so big that he is weighing down the top "bassinet" netting part of our packnplay.  The two things I have been doing some research on are the possibility of moving to cloth diapers and getting him in a crib that gives him more space and is sturdier for all his manliness.

Cloth Diapers
We like the idea of reusable.  To be honest, our main goal here is to save money (it is a bonus they are better for the environment).  I have been trying to figure out which method would be convenient enough that we could do it as well as anyone who watches him but also is a money saver (in the end as I know it is a large cost up front).  Do you use cloth diapers?  Which ones do you like?  What are your personal recommendations?  Where to buy them?  I have been given some great recommendations all ready but still weighing our options.

Crib and Mattress
Here are my thoughts at this point.  I am more than ok finding a used crib.  Something that is solid and "legal" as I understand all drop side cribs are now not being sold anymore.  I feel like I will be able to find something on either craigslist or some baby consignment store.  My bigger concern is the mattress.  I have been doing a lot of research and this is probably where I feeling the most hesitant to get any cheap mattress.  The thing that concerns me most from all the reading I have done is the chemicals used in these mattresses.  Any thoughts?  I would prefer to get one that we can use for the rest of our 9 children we plan on having (maybe not that many but you know)...I want it to last.  What would you recommend?  Where did you buy your mattress?

I'm 3 months old!

I cannot believe how fast time flies.  Our little "big" guy is 3 months old today.   He has grown so much the last three months.  He has pretty much doubled in weight and grown at least 4 inches.  Everyone thinks he is older than he is and the constant comment is "wow, he is so big."  I have fully embraced it and love our "big" guy.

Things to remember for this age:

• Laughing and smiling are common occurances but they never get old
• He certainly knows who mommy and daddy are and that makes us feel loved
• He loves new places and people - he can manage to stay awake if there is something new to entertain him
• He poops less.  This is a weird one.  He has gone from pooping at every feeding to only once or twice a day (and sometimes less).  This makes for some huge blowouts - sick!
• He has found his hands and enjoys sucking on them.  You may even catch him figuring out how to get his single thumb in his mouth.  Rick and I don't agree on "thumbsucking" at the moment.  You may see a "marriage ref" post over at rickloveschristine popping up about this. 
• He can now bat and grab things in front of him.  If you have ever noticed that your child gets fussier while developing new skills like this, it may be a wonder week.  Interesting concept.
• He can roll over from stomach to back and tummy time is getting easier.
• He has a pretty consistent schedule or maybe better refered to as a "pattern."
• His longest stretch of sleeping at night is anywhere from 5-8 hours.  We like 8.
• We are weaning from the swaddle as he is too strong and big and busts out of it almost every night.
• Naps are getting better.  The first 3 are anywhere from 45 minutes to 2.5 hours.  They typically get shorter as the day goes on.  After the 3rd nap its hit or miss for the rest of the day until he goes to bed.
• This kid loves bedtime. We struggle keeping him up but usually by 6:15ish he seems done with life and would be happy going to bed then.  We work on keeping him entertained until 7ish but pretty happy we have a baby that loves and consistently goes to bed each night.  
• He is wearing anything from 3 month to 9 month clothes depending upon the brand.

Now time for this months photoshoot:

trying to get a smile for the camera

Laughing baby.

For those who don't have facebook.  Ariy is a little laughing man these days.

Wedding Celebrations in Colorado

We just returned from our very first flying and traveling experience with a baby.  Overall consensus - Ariy did amazing!  We tried to get him a good nap or two each day wherever we were at, and he did great!  He was such a happy baby with all the attention and did great being carted around everywhere.  The day before we flew out, we got a package from Amazon.  I ordered portable speakers for our ipods.  We both have downloaded free "noise" machine apps and for a quick sooth, they work wonders.  Whenever he naps, we turn up the "heavy rain" noise and out he goes.  It is pretty great.  I would recommend something like this for anyone traveling.  It was one consistent sound he heard no matter where he was for a nap. 

Here is a picture from the airport on the way home.  We were delayed for almost an hour after they boarded us due to severe thunderstorms.  I got pretty anxious and the beginning of both flights but to my surprise, Ariy was awesome.  He slept through both flights!

Probably the best moment for Ariy's rise to popularity was during the wedding ceremony.  He was officially named the ring barrier.  The plan was this - after a (what was suppose to be) a 45 minute ceremony, the time for rings would approach.  The pastor would look over to Rick, the best man, to give him the rings.  Rick then looks confused and turns to look at the best man next to him and so on and so on.  Each guy turns their head one by one until the last guy is left not knowing where the rings are.  I am then positioned to be sitting right next to the last best man.  I pick Ariy up (with rings attached to his little suit) and hand him over to the last best man.  He then proceeds to pass him down the row until the rings make their way to Rick's hands and over to the pastor.  This was the plan.  However, come time for the ceremony to start this was Ariy:

He passed out about 10 minutes before the ceremony began.  I actually was hoping for this because I knew he would never make it 45 minutes just sitting and listening to the beautiful ceremony.  He slept for the first 10 minutes or so and then awake he was.  I did my best to pacify him with a bottle and toys and ridiculous faces.  And, it worked.  The time came quicker then expected and the groomsmen, one by one, looked down the row wondering where the rings were.  I lifted Ariy up like simba from the lion king and passed him off to the last groomsmen.  What followed was very memorable.  Eight grown men in suits passed my baby one by one down the row.  Some cradled him ever so carefully, others had no knowledge that they should maybe watch the bobble head.  My stomach had butterflies in it which distracted me from my goal of video taping the whole thing.  The crowd laughed and everyone whispered "how cute."  I didn't actually hear that, I just assume that was everyone's thoughts (of course). 

Here is a short video of the last few passes of that memorable moment. 

More importantly, the wedding of Randy and Aubrie, my brother and sister-in-laws, was amazing.  It was quite the party and everyone had a great time.  We had a lot of help from family and really got to enjoy our time.  Cheers to an amazing start to Randy and Aubrie's new life together.  And thank you to family for your extremely generous support towards our little family. 

Our "big" little man

This past week we had our two month (10 weeks) check-up for Ariy.  We were all a little nervous for it (or maybe just me) since this would be his first real round of vaccinations = shots.  I still cannot look at the nurse when I have to have blood drawn or get a shot.  I also may of cried at the dentist in recent history.  I'm just a wimp when it comes to knowing that sharp thing is going to inflict pain on me.  I have to say Ariy did much better then his mommy.  He was a trooper.  He screamed of course but within a half hour he was asleep and pretty much stayed asleep or "zoned out" the rest of the day.

As for the other stuff - we found out or I guess confirmed that we have a "big man" on our hands.  No worries - you can't really overfeed a breastfed newborn so we are all good.  He is in the 95% for head circumference and weight.  He is 75% for height.  He is already starting to bust out of some of his 3 month clothes.  It is a little ridiculous.  He keeps getting cuter by the minute just a little harder to pick up.

Ariy and I tried to do a photobooth photoshoot yesterday.  He as always, was looking much better then his disheveled mom.  Forgive me.

I think I hoped that somehow if I made faces, he would to.  He obviously wasn't interested by the look in his face. 

We head out for Colorado extremely early tomorrow morning.  I am looking for to adventures in flying with baby!