Well son, I am not sure if your Mama's brain is going to remember everything, but here goes! You are growing SO much! The first few weeks were hard because your tummy did not like the formula we were told to give you. About 15 minutes after you would eat each time, you would cry for a very long time, and we knew that you were in pain. After a couple of visits to the doctor, we convinced them that you needed a new formula (your FOURTH one!), and they agreed that we should try one called Nutramigen. We are grateful to God for all the scientists who know how to do things like take the dairy proteins out of formula so that little babies like you won't get sick. You do much better now! Except for the spitting up. Ha! You do A LOT of that! It keeps you trim and slim for sure. You DO like to eat, though! You let us know every time you are hungry, and that is more often all the time. Maybe that is because you lose so much from every feeding. We have finally settled on 5 ounces in your bottle, and you ask for that every 2 - 3 hours. It is better than giving you more, though, because your tummy just won't keep it down. We can't wait to see how much weight you have gained at your next checkup. When you were born, your weight was 7 pounds, 9 ounces, and at the last visit to the doctors, you weighed 12 pounds, 8 ounces. That makes you bigger than 25% of the other babies out there. It is good, though, because we hope that you won't struggle with weight like Mama and Daddy. You are tall, too! You were 24.5 inches at your last doctor's visit, and that makes you taller than 75% of all the other babies out there! WOW! You will definitely be taller than Mama and Daddy! :o)
You have been smiling for a long time now. We love to see you smile, and recently, we have loved to hear you laugh! One day, I even heard you laugh in your sleep. That made me smile because I knew you were having pleasant dreams. You like the different things we say to you, and the different songs we sing. "Bella," as we call your Grandma, taught you the words "uh-oh" and you try very hard to imitate those sounds. You are getting close! You like to hear the rhymes "Pat-a-cake" and the "Itsy Bitsy Spider." You also like to hear the "A-B-C song," "Jesus Loves Me," and any other song we can think of. You like for us to get creative, and you don't really like to hear a song or rhyme for more than a day or two. We know that you are bored and want us to find something new when you stop smiling. It can be rather challenging! ;o) You LOVE the Praise Baby DVDs we got for you at the Christian book store. You try to sing along, and Daddy is happy about that! You especially like the songs "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" and "Holy, Holy, Holy!" :o) Your grandmother, Mamaie, can't wait to hear you sing, too! You see her when Daddy talks to her on Skype, and you will meet her next year when we travel with you to Romania where your Daddy grew up!
The doctor says that you are very healthy. When you first came to us, your eye watered a lot, but I noticed the other week that it wasn't doing that anymore. Now, we just need to get your tummy settled down. We do give you some things in your bottle twice a day that make you feel some better. They are aloe, probiotics, and omega-3 fish oil. Such a yummy cocktail! We are also taking you to the chiropractor each week to help your body stay all relaxed and straightened out! You like him a lot, and he makes you feel better! :o)
You are quite the sleeper at night, son! You have been sleeping the WHOLE NIGHT since you were about 5 or six weeks old! Mama and Daddy are VERY thankful for that. For a few weeks, you were rather fussy in the evenings, but your sleeping through the nights helped us to get through that. Now, you are not as fussy at night anymore.
You do not sleep quite as well during the day. I guess that is smart, huh? Days are for doing things, and nights are for sleeping, right? ;o) Most times, you will wake up from your nap after 15 minutes or half an hour. If we lay down with you in the guest bed, though, you will sleep for 2 or 3 hours. I guess you just like to be with us. Plus, you like to sleep on your stomach, and you can do that if we are there to watch you, but not if you are by yourself. Grandpap discovered how much you like this, and taught us. He could get you to sleep better than all of us! :o)
You do not like to have a pacifier. We tried those with you several times when you first came to be with us, but you always spit it out. Who wants plastic in their mouth, anyway, right? ;o) You have found your thumb, though, and we think that it is good for you to have a way to soothe yourself! The only thing is that you chew on it more than suck. Maybe you are preparing to get some teeth??? :o)
You like baths, but you do not play in the tub yet. We can't wait until you do! :o) In the meantime, your big sister Goldie thinks it is her job to personally give you a bath! Maybe she thinks you are one of her puppies. LOL! ;o) Your big brother, Benjamin likes to sit quietly next to you and protect you. :o)
You like the swing our friends gave us for you. It is a good place to sit so that Mama can cook dinner or do the laundry, but really, you would rather be held. Mama likes to hold you, too, but sometimes, she needs to get things done. She doesn't get a bath very often anymore because you usually wake up from your nap when she tries. Hopefully, things will get a little better as you get older. :o)
You have a nice new crib, now, that we brought home a few weeks ago. Before that, you were sleeping in a bassinet, but then you were getting a little bit too big for that. Sadly, the crib has a little boo-boo on the top and we have to get a new piece to replace it. Then, your room will be almost done. It is still set up for guests to come visit us, too, and we like that because all our friends are so important to us and you. All of them were so excited and welcomed you with lots of gifts and many, many kisses! We were able to get your crib because of them, and you were also given A LOT of clothes! Now, the only thing left to do in your room is to paint your initials for the wall above your bed and the meanings of your names from the Bible, God's Word! You have three names plus our last name. Wow! 22 letters! You will know almost the WHOLE alphabet when you learn your names! ;o) Your first name was given to you by your birth mother, and we like it very much because it came from the Bible. We love her very much, and we hope that you will love her, too, and learn to know her as you grow. You have two middle names hyphenated together. They are each from your grandfathers because we love them very much and we want you to always remember them. We also have the changing table that was Mama's when she was a baby. Daddy's brother came to visit the other year, and he helped to paint the table to make it special for you! He even hand-painted the words Joy, Hope, and Peace on the drawers because those words were special to Mama while we waited for you. Don't ever forget, son, that God will give us His Joy, Hope, and Peace every day of our lives, if we ask Him. We pray that He will draw you to Himself early in your life, and that you will respond to Him and that you will not resist Him. He loves you and He died for you. We pray that you will choose to follow Him.
Well, it is late, and I can't think of anything else right now. We love you, and we are grateful to God for choosing us to be your Mama and Daddy! Sleep well!
Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...
