Haha! We're grooming Stratton to take over Cullum Seeds in about 30 years. Gotta start 'em early!! I think he looks really at home behind the boss' desk?! I was working late the other night and Jarrod & Stratton were with me (Jarrod doesn't like me being in the office by myself at night) and I thought this would be a funny picture.
Last night we fed Stratton around 8:45. Then we gave him a bath and put him to bed. He did cry for a little while, so it was probably about 10:00 before he actually went to sleep. He slept until 5:15 this morning. And Jarrod had to wake him up so he could start getting him ready! I am sure this won't be an every night occurrence but it would really be nice!! This will only make the 3rd time that he has slept more than 5 hours straight, so hopefully it will gradually start happening more and more!
You may be wondering about Taki and how she is adapting to the new addition. . .well , she has lost her place as an only child and has been taking it really well. At first she didn't even act like she knew Stratton existed,(I think she was just happy to have us home!) but in the past few weeks she has gradually gained a little more interest in him. If we put him in the floor she will sniff at him but that's about it. She sits close to him and stares at him a lot. She has the best vantage point to do this from from her spot on the back of the couch. She'll give us these looks when he's throwing a fit, I'm sure she is thinking "why won't you people shut him up!!". She has been spending a lot more time outside, too. Not sure if that has something to do with the noise level change in the house or not?! But don't feel too sorry for her. She isn't being neglected by any means. She still gets plenty of tlc from us and is still sleeping at the end of our bed every night.
[everybody wants to sit in daddy's lap!]
[Taki really does look sad in this picture]
We have been at home with Stratton for 8 weeks now, or roughly 56 days! I guesstimate that in the past 2 months we have made about 400 bottles and gone through around 380 diapers! The past week was a big week for us. . .my first week back at work and yesterday was Stratton's 2 month birthday! I am amazed at how much Stratton is growing! It seems like in the the past two weeks he has had a major growth spurt! We measured him last night at he is almost 26 inches long! We should really get some scales, I wouldn't be surprised if Stratton weighed 12 lbs by now, he has really started to "fill out" some of his clothes!
Here are some pictures from the past week!
[Wednesday night after church]
[Friday, first visit to the hair salon. . he slept the whole time!]
[Saturday, first night in footie pj's]
Kayce took this picture of the boys on Tuesday. Stratton looks almost as big as Cooper, but then again Cooper only weighs 20 lbs and I bet Stratton is at least 11 or 12, now! Things are going well. The mornings are a little hectic, but it's something I will get used to. Stratton has been good for Kayce this week, or so she says. I was worried that she might be run ragged keeping up with Cooper and watching a baby at the same time. But she told me the only time she has her hands full is around lunch when they both want to eat at the same time, but other than that it hasn't been that bad. Whew! I am relived! So for now, Kayce will keep Stratton on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I will not be working on Monday's for the time being and since Jarrod is off on Fridays he can stay home with him. I think things have worked out great, which is such a blessing! I was really worried about what we would do with him when I went back to work. It's so great that we can leave him with family and I think it will be good for Stratton to be around his cousin Cooper.
Well today was my first day back at work. I was more than ready to get back to my job. I really missed working and mainly the people I work with! I have said that Stratton is WAY more demanding than Kelly (my boss) is!! A screaming baby is not quite as understanding when you are busy and can't get to what they want at the moment. There is no rationalizing with a baby! I was nervous about how the morning would go. . . feeding, changing, getting everything loaded in the car, racing across town to drop Stratton off and then making it to work by 8am, but it wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. Jarrod got up with him at 5am and fed him, changed him and put him in a clean onesie. So he was good to go when I got ready to leave. And thankfully after Jarrod feed him he went back to sleep and didn't make a peep until right before I got ready to leave, which was around 7:15. I was out the door by 7:25 and I got to Kayce's at 7:45! I knew traffic was going to be bad, but I had no idea how long it would really take. I was on the road for almost 45 minutes this morning. That's longer than my drive to Waldenburg when I worked at that office! I am going to have to try a few different routes and see which one is going to be the fastest. Work was ok, I feel a little lost since they have moved into the new office while I was gone and there have been many changes in my absence. I guess it will just take a while to get back into the groove. I left work about ten till five and picked Stratton up. Aunt Judy was at Kayce's so I visited with them for just a minute. It was 5:30 and Stratton was supposed to eat at 5:30, so I thought I'd better hurry home and try to avoid a breakdown in the car. Kayce said he was good today. I didn't have time to get the minute by minute playback but as long as she isn't standing in the driveway with his bags packed when I show up to get him, I'll take that as good thing and just assume he wasn't too much of a terror. We got home just before six and Jarrod fed him a bottle as soon as I could get it fixed. Right now it is 8:25pm and so far he hasn't been asleep for more than 10 minutes since we got home! I hope this means he is going to sleep good! The night time formula seems to be working. Last night he ate at 11:30 (it took him a full hour to eat, though. . I was getting at least 3 oz down him one way or the other, even if it took all night! ) and then he didn't wake up again till a little before 5am, so we got maybe 4 1/2 hours of sleep. I would prefer a good 6 hours between the night feeding and the morning, but 4 is better than 2, I know I shouldn't complain!
By the time I got home tonight I was wore out. Seriously, I could have gone to bed at 6pm. I don't know how we are going to do this everyday. I assume I'll get used to it eventually. Jarrod reminded me that today is just day one and it will get easier everyday. . . let's hope. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who cooked us supper and is now feeding Stratton so I can have a few minutes to myself. I checked my email & blogs, I baked some chocolate chip biscuits. . .baking and cooking always helps me unwind. . . and now I am headed to my long awaited bubble bath and hopefully a good night's sleep. . . or at least a few good hours!
