The Clarksons

Saturday, November 17, 2007

12 weeks!

12 weeks and officially 3 months on 11/25/07! What a big boy! This week was overall a good one and we are looking forward to next week for yummy Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will be yummy as we are hosting for the first time....first time cooking a turkey-YIKES!! I'm sure it will be fun and we look forward to having over family and friends to share food and to be together.

Eli visited the chiropractor 3 times this week and he is making great improvements with his neck. Next week we go 2 times and probably just a few more times after that. We then only have to return during his developmental milestones such as crawling, walking, etc. to make sure all is still going well. I'm SO glad we are doing this as the chiropractor said this will help him to not have scoliosis in the future. She didn't even know that I have scoliosis and when I told her she stated that it is so wonderful that we are doing this so early as it will help in preventing a genetic disorder-phew!! Eli enjoys going (except the car ride-75% of the time he hates being in the car due to being strapped in his car seat) and just seems so much more content and he eats and sleeps better. Amazing and I would recommend for all infants!!

Eli continues to pack on the pounds and now weighs a whopping 15 lbs. 11 ounces. As daddy says mommy must have magic milk!! Eli is still picky about the bottle and will only take in sometimes. Eric gives it to him about 2 times a week and so far I don't fully trust that he can take a bottle if I am gone. We'll have to try it out sometime soon but if he doesn't take the bottle, we'll have to see if he'll take the cup. Since I'm not returning to the workforce until he is 6 months, he can start other foods and should be fine taking the cup for breast milk while I am at work. But, I still hope he can adjust to the bottle.

Eli is so into his hands and is constantly stuffing them in his mouth and looking at them. He also rolled on his side 2 times for us while on his blanket, so that was neat to see. He continues to chat up a storm, too, and makes so many noises that people are always commenting about it. He also loves to kick and wave his arms. I think we're going to be in trouble with a jabber box and a really active toddler. I'm sure Eli and daddy will keep each other busy with their hyper activity!!

Enjoy pics and videos from the week!!

One of the times I took the bottle

One of our pretty fall trees!

Cute boy!!

Getting better in my bumbo chair!!

Chick magnet for sure!

Mommy & me!!

Me with my rattle, Daddy & Mocha

Daddy thought it was funny to put a rattle on my head...but I didn't care!!

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Look at my legs and arms go!!

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Daddy is silly!!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Cherish your little ones....

The photographer who took Eli's pictures, Abundant Moments, also works for an organization called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. It's an organization that takes pictures of infants who have passed away. Their website is amazing and they have pictures and stories about the babies they have photographed. I have sat here for the last 10 minutes bawling my eyes out over these stories and pictures. All I can say is cherish your little ones as each day is a gift. I'm going to go kiss and hug Eli right now, even though he is asleep, as each day is a blessing. Take a look at the site as it is truly an amazing experience.....I feel so blessed....

11 weeks

11 weeks today....close to 3 months! He grows and changes everyday and it is too cute what a little man he is becoming!! I have some great news to share: I will be staying home with Eli until he is at least 6 months! I officially quit my job this week and will be looking for a more family friendly job closer to home to start in February or March. Wish me luck in my job search as I want to be picky to find a job I really like, that is close to home, family friendly, and has a decent salary. I talked to his daycare and they are willing to keep his spot open which is a great relief to know I won't have to go on a daycare search again!!

Also, we started taking Eli to a chiropractor on Wednesday and he has gone every day since. The chiropractor really believes through her adjustments that she can make his torticollis better and make him over all happier. I have noticed a change for the better as he seems more content, has extended out his feeding schedule somewhat, and has slept longer! Of course these are all wonderful things for mommy and it is due to Eli feeling better, which is awesome! Who knew chiropractic care would make such a difference!! We also are doing the stretching exercises at every diaper change to help relax that muscle in his neck. Hopefully soon with all of this it will all come together and he'll no longer favor that side anymore!

Here are pics/videos from the week to enjoy!

Daddy wanted to be sure to get pics of Eli in his Royals outfit even though the season is over!!

Eli the cool homie :)

Do I have a hat on my head??

Yes I do and it is fun!

I love to hold and rattle my rattle!

Napping on my side...I like it!

Trying out the bumbo chair even though I'm a little young for it....someday soon I will be able to hold my head straight!!

I love mommy (as my shirt says)!!

Mr. Monkey is my friend and we are about the same size!!

I am macho, don't ya know!

Our little army brat!

Did I already say I love mommy??

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Somewhat of an attempt to purposefully grab my toys!

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Naked Eli with hiccups....poor guy!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Pictures!

Here's the link to our proofs....aren't they adorable??

Monday, November 5, 2007

Torticollis

Well, it looks like our little Eli has a condition called Torticollis. What this essentially means is that he favors tilting his head to one side due to a stiff muscle on the opposite side of his neck. It's nothing serious yet and can be treated with stretches and making sure to encourage him to turn his neck by positioning everything that he wants to look at in that direction. I had always noticed he had his head tilted to one side a lot, but I just thought it was due to his head being heavy and his neck not being mature yet. Holly noticed this, too, and asked if I had looked into it being a condition. Then I started to research it and found numerous websites about it. We went to the doctor today and it was confirmed. We will do stretches at home throughout the day for a month and if it doesn't improve he will need to go to physical therapy. As long as it is worked with and corrected before he is a year old, he should be fine. Many infants with torticollis also have one side of their head flatter than the other, which he doesn't have, so that is good. This can also explain why he hates tummy time so much. So, we will have to work on this and make sure he gets a good amount of tummy time, which will help build his neck muscles. Here are pictures that show his head tilt:

I'm just glad we are addressing this now and not later as it is harder to correct later. I will keep everyone posted on our progress. We go to a chiropractor on Wednesday, too, so we'll see what they have to say. I can't help but wonder if this occurred in utero. I carried so low the last month or so and I had a lot of pelvic pain, which may have been his head smashed against my pelvis. I often wondered if I had so much pain what it would do to his poor head!! But, there is no telling if this was the case or not. All we can do is work on correcting it!! Wish us luck!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

10 weeks!

10 weeks...we've reached the double digits!! Things are going well for the Clarkson gang and it's hard to believe we are almost to that 3 month mark! Eli is still growing like a weed as he weighed 14 lbs. 11 ounces on Friday-WOW! I even asked a lactation consultant if he was gaining too fast and she said that many breastfed babies gain quickly at the beginning and then slow down after awhile. While he weighs a lot, it is all "spread out" as he doesn't look chubby or anything. He's just long and big (except he does carry a lot of weight in his belly ;)

Last night we had our photo shoot with a family portrait and fun pictures of Eli. We plan to send out an announcement/Holiday picture card with these pictures on it. I'll post the link to the proofs mid week when they are up. I think we got some really cute ones!! The outfit we bought for him to wear was just adorable...we got it at Gymboree...

Eric is giving Eli the bottle 3-4 times a week in the evening and weekends to make sure Eli will be able to take it when we need him to. I have read that at around this age they can become picky with a bottle and if they aren't introduced, they may not take it at all. We had waited until a few weeks ago just because of our breastfeeding issues. But, things are really going well in that department now so we just have to continue to expose him to the bottle.

Eli is doing a lot of "talking", smiling, a little laughing, and tracks really well. We still have a hard time with tummy time, though. He just doesn't like it! He can lift his head well when he is upright and on my shoulder and can push himself away really well. Hopefully he will transfer this skill to while he is on his tummy so he can learn to crawl at some point! Here's a pick of our attempt at tummy time:

Eli also loves to suck on his hand but still can't do his thumb on his own. He also likes to look in the mirror and laughs when he sees himself and me. As far as sleeping, we just started to have him sleep in his sleep positioner in the bassinet and he is doing okay with this. He wakes a few times in the night startled and I have to put my hand on his chest and give him his soothie to help him go back to sleep. We are doing this to help transition him to sleeping laying down (not in car seat) and so he can eventually go to his crib. Not sure when we will transition him there, but we will have to at some point!!

Below are some fun pictures/video from the week: