Well, Nikki's worst fear has come to pass... Riley hates the bottle. We started introducing it when he was about 3 weeks old to try to avoid this. He never loved it, but he took the bottle OK from anyone but Nikki. Over the past few weeks, we have not used the bottle as often (maybe only once or twice a week) because of our schedules and the fact that Nikki (and Riley) prefer breastfeeding to the bottle. When we were in Ohio was the first time that Riley refused the bottle, and was very hungry when we got home from the wedding. After that, we tried the bottle on Monday and again yesterday without success. Eventually we give up and feed Riley when he gets frantic.
However, Nikki is starting to panic because she is going back to work on Thursday. That will be hard enough without having to worry that Riley is starving while she's gone. He will be only a few blocks away, but work at the hospital is usually too hectic to be leaving every few hours to feed him. We are in for a long week as we try to convince him that the bottle gives him the same milk and he needs to use it from time to time. If anyone has any suggestions please let us know!!!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Trip to OHIO!
Well over Memorial day weekend we had a big trip planned. We left on Thursday evening at 7pm and drove up to Uncle Michael and Aunt Christine's house to feed Riley and have a quick visit. We drove about another hour and stayed the night in a hotel in Hagerston Maryland. It was Riley's first hotel stay and he did very well. It was a late night but he slept well. We got up and on the road by 9am to continue to trip to Nikki's grandparents house. We arrived there about 2pm after a few stops for Riley to eat and stretch. He did very well in the car, sleeping for the most part. We had a very nice visit there, visiting with family and relaxing. We stayed overnight and left midmorning for Beechwood Ohio for the wedding.
We checked into the hotel and left Aunt Jenna with Riley while we went to the wedding. We came home and Riley did not like that bottle so was ready to eat! We stayed overnight and left early in the morning and drove the WHOLE way home to Richmond. Riley did a great job, only being slightly fussy when he woke. We had a quick visit in Richmond to visit with some of Dennis' family and then we continued on to Yorktown. Monday was Nikki's birthday and there was a joint Beil birthday party planned for the day - celebrating Nikki's mom and dad's birthdays along with hers. After a nice celebration we returned home to Richmond and began the unpacking process... It was a fun trip and Riley did great!
We checked into the hotel and left Aunt Jenna with Riley while we went to the wedding. We came home and Riley did not like that bottle so was ready to eat! We stayed overnight and left early in the morning and drove the WHOLE way home to Richmond. Riley did a great job, only being slightly fussy when he woke. We had a quick visit in Richmond to visit with some of Dennis' family and then we continued on to Yorktown. Monday was Nikki's birthday and there was a joint Beil birthday party planned for the day - celebrating Nikki's mom and dad's birthdays along with hers. After a nice celebration we returned home to Richmond and began the unpacking process... It was a fun trip and Riley did great!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Video of Delaney #2
We were looking through the videos and found another cute Delaney video that we wanted to share with everyone. This was on her 16th day, and little did she know that she was going to have a sweet 16 party that night with her nurses. We came in the next day to wonderful pictures and Delaney had a bow in her hair!! These special memories are wonderful, and I'm so happy to have so many videos to be able to share with everyone who cares about her and our family.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
2 month appointment!
Yesterday was a big day for Riley!
First, we had our interview with the VCU daycare and met Riley's teacher and classmates. We spent an hour and a half there and got the feel of things. He did great, but Nikki and Dennis felt the reality of putting him in childcare for the first time. It is a wonderful place, but it is hard to leave him anywhere.
After that, we got lunch at the hospital and visited Nikki's office for a few minutes to catch up and spend the time until Riley's 2 month doctor appointment!
After a long wait in the waiting room, we were brought back and the moment of truth was upon us...how much would Riley weigh. The last time we got a weight, he was 2 weeks old and weighed 8lbs 3 oz (25%) and was 21" (50%) inches long. In the last 6 weeks everyone has been asking how much he weighed and we were excited to see how much he had grown. Nikki's guess was 11 1/2 pounds and Dennis' was 11 pounds. Imagine our disbelief when the scale said 13 lbs 11 oz!!! That puts him in the 90th% for weight. He is 23 1/2" inches long, also the 90th%.
We had a good visit with the doctor who said that Riley is right on track. The only issue we have to work on is sleeping...Riley is adverse to naps and only sleeps about 11 hours a day. He will only sleep on us and wakes up or screams if we try to put him to sleep in his crib. So, we are working on that. Not much progress to date...three times today Nikki put him down to sleep and three times he screamed and ended up sleeping on mommy. But tomorrow is another day and we'll keep at it!
Riley got his 2 month shots and it was harder for Dennis and Nikki than it was on Riley. He did just fine with them. Next time when he's bigger will be a different story I'm sure!
First, we had our interview with the VCU daycare and met Riley's teacher and classmates. We spent an hour and a half there and got the feel of things. He did great, but Nikki and Dennis felt the reality of putting him in childcare for the first time. It is a wonderful place, but it is hard to leave him anywhere.
After that, we got lunch at the hospital and visited Nikki's office for a few minutes to catch up and spend the time until Riley's 2 month doctor appointment!
After a long wait in the waiting room, we were brought back and the moment of truth was upon us...how much would Riley weigh. The last time we got a weight, he was 2 weeks old and weighed 8lbs 3 oz (25%) and was 21" (50%) inches long. In the last 6 weeks everyone has been asking how much he weighed and we were excited to see how much he had grown. Nikki's guess was 11 1/2 pounds and Dennis' was 11 pounds. Imagine our disbelief when the scale said 13 lbs 11 oz!!! That puts him in the 90th% for weight. He is 23 1/2" inches long, also the 90th%.
We had a good visit with the doctor who said that Riley is right on track. The only issue we have to work on is sleeping...Riley is adverse to naps and only sleeps about 11 hours a day. He will only sleep on us and wakes up or screams if we try to put him to sleep in his crib. So, we are working on that. Not much progress to date...three times today Nikki put him down to sleep and three times he screamed and ended up sleeping on mommy. But tomorrow is another day and we'll keep at it!
Riley got his 2 month shots and it was harder for Dennis and Nikki than it was on Riley. He did just fine with them. Next time when he's bigger will be a different story I'm sure!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mothers Day!
year. I know I'm a mom to 2 beautiful children, but it is hard to be
totally happy on these special days when I can't have them both with me.
I know that you all remember Delaney and I'm so grateful for that, but
it is all negated by just hearing one time "happy first mothers day"
or "you're finally a mother". It makes me shrink inside. Those
comments are not made to make me feel bad, or to belittle Delaney's
place in our family, but it is a reminder that my family will never be
whole.
In the morning we relaxed, I opened my cards and gifts, and we watched
a movie when Riley finally decided to nap. For the second year we took
a picnic lunch out to the memorial garden to share with Delaney. Then
we spent the afternoon with Dennis' family which was very nice.
Overall much happier than last year. If only I woke up to 2 precious
children today -- that would have been perfect!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Rolling Over
Riley has become adept at rolling over, and we finally caught it on camera. Very quickly the difficulty changed from holding the camera and waiting for him to roll to getting the camera on fast enough to catch the event!!
7 Weeks old!!
Riley is already 7 weeks old!! It hit Nikki the other day that she only has one month until she returns to work. The time really has been flying by!! Riley is smiling more every day, and he has become a master at rolling from tummy to back. He now has an escape from the dreaded tummy time and he wastes no time turning over. We finally got it on video and as soon as he gives us a minute we will post the video.
We've got a few milestones coming up in the next few weeks. On the 13th we have our interveiw with the child care center and we will learn all the ins and outs of that, and meet Riley's teacher. Later that day he has his 2 month visit with the pediatrician and will get his first vaccinations (ouch!). On May 20 we are going on our first big trip, to OHIO! We are going to visit Riley's great grandparents for a day and go to a wedding before driving home and then going right to Yorktown to celebrate Nikki's birthday with the family party (her mom and dad both have may birthdays too).
We spent this past weekend down in Yorktown once again, attending a going away party for Nikki's brother Jimmy. He is a marine and is being deployed with a marine expediationary unit (on a naval ship) for 6 months. It was sad for us to say good bye and to know that Riley will be SO much bigger by the time he gets home. Even more sad, his wife will have had their son and he will be 3 months old before Jimmy gets home to meet him. So, it was definately sad to say goodbye but we will be keeping in touch as much as possible until he gets home. My mom is running a DVD drive to send to the marines so that they have something to unwind with. They are collecting new or used DVD movies or TV series. If anyone has any DVDs that they are trying to get rid of, let me know!
We've got a few milestones coming up in the next few weeks. On the 13th we have our interveiw with the child care center and we will learn all the ins and outs of that, and meet Riley's teacher. Later that day he has his 2 month visit with the pediatrician and will get his first vaccinations (ouch!). On May 20 we are going on our first big trip, to OHIO! We are going to visit Riley's great grandparents for a day and go to a wedding before driving home and then going right to Yorktown to celebrate Nikki's birthday with the family party (her mom and dad both have may birthdays too).
We spent this past weekend down in Yorktown once again, attending a going away party for Nikki's brother Jimmy. He is a marine and is being deployed with a marine expediationary unit (on a naval ship) for 6 months. It was sad for us to say good bye and to know that Riley will be SO much bigger by the time he gets home. Even more sad, his wife will have had their son and he will be 3 months old before Jimmy gets home to meet him. So, it was definately sad to say goodbye but we will be keeping in touch as much as possible until he gets home. My mom is running a DVD drive to send to the marines so that they have something to unwind with. They are collecting new or used DVD movies or TV series. If anyone has any DVDs that they are trying to get rid of, let me know!
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