Catching up!

All about Axton at 8 months old

All About Axton at 7 months old

All About Axton at 6 Months Old!

Can you believe that it's already been 6 months since Axton was born?? I remember thinking that he was NEVER going to be born and now here it is, half a year later!  We are just loving this little boy.
We went to the pediatrician today and everything looks great! He's in the 30th percentile for weight, length, head circumference, and weight/length. He also got some shots but he was super brave and only cried for a minute.
Man, before we know it, his first birthday will be here. Slow down already Axton!

Grandma and Grandpa B

We are approaching 2 years since Jon's grandma and grandpa Buchanan passed away. Grandpa B passed away on April 23, 2010 and Grandma B passed away about 7 weeks later on June 13, 2010. A few family members went to their grave on Sunday, April 22nd to take time to remember them. 

The last time I had been there had been their funerals. The day after Grandpa's funeral, I was hospitalized for 3 weeks for my UC. Then of course I was still sick and having outpatient treatments after being discharged. Due to this, we did not have the chance to properly say good-bye to his grandma before she passed. Breaks my heart. We know that families are forever and take comfort in knowing that we will see them again.

Viva Las Vegas!

The weekend of April 13-15, we had the chance to go to Las Vegas with the Utah Pipe Band. They competed at the Scottish Festival there. 

We drove down Friday afternoon. We quickly learned how fun it is to travel with a baby... (sarcasm). He did NOT like to be in his carseat for that long. I don't either but I know better than to cry the whole way ;)

Las Vegas did not have it's usual hot weather when we first got there. It was so so cold on Saturday. The wind was blowing most of the day and it was rainy off and on.

Then to make matters worse, Axton had a blow out.  I was reluctant to change his diaper to begin with because we were outside all day and it was cold- I didn't want to expose his bare bum.  But the wind died down shortly so I changed his (wet) diaper really fast. About a half hour to 45 minutes later, I suspected he was poopy. Jon took him out of the Baby Bjorn and he had poop all up his front!  I didn't have a change of clothes and we were MILES (approx 15-20 minutes) away from our hotel with all our stuff! Fortunately, when Axton was born, my SIL Kristin had made us an emergency kit for our car that consisted of a few necessities, including some PJ'S!  Saved the day!! 

Sunday, however, (the day we went home) was beautiful weather. Sunny and actually quite hot.

We had a lot of fun but I don't think we'll be planning that long of a road trip again for quite some time.

On the way to Vegas.

Made in America with Scottish parts.

He didn't complain about the cold as much as I did.

Axton loved the lights at Fremont Street.

Easter

Axton got to see the Easter bunny this year. 

Although it's not the Easter bunny you're thinking of. This one was just his size. He loved feeling it's soft fur and probably even wanted to take it home. 

Although he wasn't willing to give us many smiles, we still got some good pictures. Axton gets his blue eyes from his mama, so hopefully they stay that color. 

On Easter Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Buchanan's house for an Easter egg hunt. Of course Axton found all of the eggs that were hidden for him. :)

All about Axton at 5 Months Old

All About Axton at 4 Months Old

More St. Patrick's Day

Me and Axton in green!

Jon before the parade

The Utah Pipe Band (Jon is in the very center- third row from the left and 3rd person back)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day is always fun. At least I think so. I wish there were more days in the year where we all wore the same color and did fun things. :) Today Axton went to his first parade (outside my belly that is). Jon was in the parade in downtown SLC at the Gateway Mall with the Utah Pipe Band. It was a little windy and cloudy but it actually wasn't that cold.  I put Axton in the Baby Bjorn front carrier (which he LOVES) and watched the parade. He loves anything action packed so he enjoyed all the colors and costumes and whatever else there was to see.  He did fall asleep for about a half hour or so but woke up just in time to see Jon marching and playing the bagpipes. Growing up we never went to parades but last summer I had the opportunity to go to a lot with the Utah Pipe Band and I had so much fun! I look forward to taking Axton to them this year.

Time

I've been thinking a lot about time lately. Maybe because we just had Daylight Savings, maybe because Axton just turned 4 months old, maybe because it seems to be going by too fast... It seems like the month of March has become a significant month for us the last few years. Three years ago, when I was in my final semester of nursing school, I became really sick. Finally, after a few weeks, I couldn't take it anymore and gave in to the idea of a colonoscopy. That's when I got my diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (March 31, 2009). The next day I was admitted to the hospital for almost 2 weeks to receive treatment.  A year later I started having flare symptoms again in March and April and when outpatient treatment failed, I was admitted to the hospital on May 1st for 3 weeks to receive treatment.
Last March I found out the best news ever: that we were going to be parents! On March 17th, at 5 weeks 6 days pregnant, I had my first glimpse of my growing miracle (my US was earlier than most because I was having pains and they wanted to make sure the pregnancy was in my uterus and not the fallopian tube).

There's not much to see that early in pregnancy but the little white dot in the black oval is my baby's heartbeat. 

I know that in no time at all, we will be celebrating Axton's birthday and even perhaps the birth of future miracles. We look forward to these little things. 

Whoever said 'sleeping like a baby' obviously never had one

Axton has gone on a sleep strike. Yes, I know he's a baby and they don't usually sleep for very long periods of time. When Axton was about a month old he'd sleep for about 4 hours at a time at night. At 2 months I was super lucky and he'd sleep about 6 hours. Right after he turned 3 months, he suddenly went to waking up every 3 hours. And it hasn't improved. I am one tired mama! And of course, it started the week before I went back to work. (more on this later) 
He also is a terrible napper. When I get him to nap, he wakes up exactly 30 minutes later. Some may argue and say that some kids don't require a lot of sleep but he's way cranky when he's lacking good quality sleep. On the other hand, he does nap for longer than 30 minutes when his Aunt Kristin baby-sits him.  I've tried mimicking all the things she does but I don't have the same success. I know it'll pass but I just needed to rant.
Earlier I mentioned about going back to work... My first day back was February 20th and it has gone surprisingly smooth. I am only working 2 days a week and will soon be orienting another nurse at work to take over some of my charge nurse duties. This is wonderful for me because I have less stress at work. And it means I only spend 2 days a week away from my baby.  On days that Jon and I both work, Axton gets to hang out at his Aunt Kristin's house with his 2 cousins, Matt and Olivia.
I miss hanging out with my Axton all day every day but I knew that I would eventually have to go back to work. This is only my 3rd week back but I'm glad everything is going ok.

All About Axton at 3 months old!

We're a little behind. Its been a busy month!

Sometimes you just gotta do whatcha gotta do...

My precious baby Axton is... well, I don't know what he is. I think he has some tummy troubles and he is unhappy a lot of the time. It started just before he turned 2 months old. It breaks my heart when he cries because there's not much I can do to soothe him. He still smiles and coos but just not enough as I'd like him to (it's so cute, I'd have it 24/7 if it was possible!). But trust me, I forget about the crying when he's all smiles and "talking" to me. I love it!

So one night he was unhappy and I was trying to put pressure on his belly but he couldn't get comfortable. This was my solution:

He is laying belly down on the back of the couch, sleeping. I laid him down like this and stood behind him patting his little diapered bum and he fell asleep! I haven't had much luck with this since so I'm glad I decided to take a picture! (With Jon standing by, of course!)

I've learned to just go with the flow and do what we have to do to survive! This was just one of the situations we've encountered already!