Pictures from Clay's First Trip

As promised, here's some pictures from Clay's first trip to Belvidere. Unfortunately, no pictures from the Hindsdale Oasis were taken...

Getting sunscreen on...


Dressed and ready for the pool...


In the pool with Mommy...


Enjoying my day...


Relaxing on the couch...

Clay's First Trip

We headed back to Belvidere this past weekend to visit with family and friends for the first time since Clay was born. WOW! Babies require a lot of stuff for a trip away from home. And amazingly enough- we actually used almost everything we brought (except all the "just in case" outfits).

Clay did a great job both ways in the car. He slept for about 3 hours each way before we needed to stop and get fed. Each time we stopped he decided to fill his diaper to the brim and beyond right before we got back on the road - pretty good timing so we didn't end up with a messy car seat. We had a great time up at home and got to see lots of people without ever having to leave the Boyle or Swinter houses. It amazing how people flock to a baby. Everyone loved Clay and he was a good boy while people were holding him and playing with him.

Clay had his first swimming pool experience at Grammy Jan and Papa Steve's house. The jury is still out over whether he liked it or not. He was fine with his feet being in but completely unsure once we were belly button high.

All in all it was a great trip and we all had so much fun seeing everyone! Hopefully we will be seeing everyone again soon.

Pictures to come when Brian gets home from work....

Clay and His Zebra

They're friends...

A Successful Week

We had a great week of sleeping this week (knock on wood). I am hoping that we have finally turned a corner and Clay is not just messing with us. 4 days in a row we were able to get a 6 hour stretch of sleep out of the little guy which helps mommy and daddy get a few more hours in a row too. He's still not on a time schedule yet and tends to fall asleep at a different time each night after a bit of fussing but I'll take it if it means the long stretches are going to continue.

Brian hopped on the scale with Clay today and we know that he is now 9 pounds or somewhere close to there. He has actually grown enough to keep a pair of newborn pants up now and can wear socks without them coming off every time he kicks his foot. Soon we will be out of the newborn onesies and finally fitting into the newborn outfits (they were all a little bit big for him which is great so that we have more choices now). Even with all the choices nothing lasts very long between leaks out of the diaper and spitting up. Mommy usually gets a couple new outfits a day also due to the dangerously close proximity to the messy one. All in all- there is a LOT of laundry being done!

Clay is smiling all the time now and for actual reasons, if we make funny faces or voices or if he sees something that he likes he will shows us the cute gummy grin. Its great how a baby never gives you a fake smile, it is always genuine and means they really are happy. Even after hours of fussing- if he calms down and smiles even once you just kind of forget that you have been dealing with screaming and crying for the past several hours and everything is good again.

Sleepy Baby

All Smiles

6 Weeks Old Today

Hello All! Today Clay turns 6 weeks old- it really doesn't seem like he has been here that long yet and I am starting to understanding why so many moms and dads say that it goes by so fast. The end of a week comes and we have no idea where all the time went or what we did with it. Clay had a bit of a fussy weekend. Poor Brian was feeling a little discouraged as it seemed everytime he picked up Clay he starting crying with what seemed like no cause. Holly on the other hand seems to have the solution all the time in the way of milk.

Clay has continued to get a little better at sleeping. We have figured out that we do not need to get up every time he fusses or makes noise - even though it is impossible to sleep through. Many times he will quiet down and just fall back to sleep. If he really needs something there is no end to the fussing and it just gets progressively louder as he gets mad at us for not coming to get him fast enough.

Holly had a Dr. appointment today and Dr. Bolin was so excited to see Clay again and even paraded him around the office to see everyone. The visit went well and Holly is so excited to be cleared to start working out and what not again. Brian is also excited that he will no longer have to mow the lawn and vacuum the floors without anyone else to help.

Hope you are all well and we'll get some more pictures on here soon.

6 Hours of Sleep Never Felt So Good

We had our 1 month Dr. appointment this past Monday and Clay did a great job. He has gained 2 pounds this past month and now weighs 8 lbs 4 oz. and is growing more and more everyday. He also had to get a shot while he was there and it was heart breaking. Clay let out the longest cry without breathing. It was the first time that we had seen him cry because he was in pain and it was awful.

The rest of the week went pretty well. Holly was able to have lunch with a couple of friends and Clay was well behaved the entire time, sleeping through most of it. Clay also got to meet most of the Heaton side of the family while they were in town. He did a great job being passed around and didn't fuss anymore than would have been expected for a one month old.

The really exciting news of the week was the 6 straight hours of sleep Clay got last night! - and in turn let us get also. The previous night he had about a 5 hour stretch so we are hoping that longer stretches of sleep like this are going to become a part of the regular routine.

For those of you that may be in belvidere, we are planning our first trip up home the weekend of July 25th - 27th. So if you are around and would like to meet Clay, give us a buzz and we'd love to see you!

Clay is smiling much more now- especially when he hears daddy's voice.

Clay after a bath all wrapped up in a towel- we thought he looked like a frog

We Made It One Month!

This past Tuesday we "celebrated" Clay's 1 month birthday. No real celebration occurred but Grandma and Grandpa Swinter were here and stayed the night on their way down to Virginia. The first month of Clay's life has been tiring for all parties involved but wonderful none the less. Sleep deprived nights are the norm but you can't even get upset about it when you get to spend more time with that cute little face.

Clay has also starting taking a bottle about once a day which gives mommy a break and gives daddy some of that special feeding time. We tried giving him a bottle for one of his nightly feedings for the first time last night and it went great. Clay went to bed at 11:30 pm, Brian was up with him at 4:00am, and Holly was up with him at 7:30. All in all I think it was the best night of sleep we have had in a while. Hopefully we can keep that schedule going.

Hope all is well with you and that you all have a wonderful 4th of July (I think we will be staying away from the fireworks this year).