Stories

March 22, 2008 Hope everyone had a nice Easter. Nana had Easter at her house this year and everything was very good. It was nice to see everyone and spend the day together. Easter Bunny, Nana and Grandma Cartwright all bought Bradyn puffs so that will last us about a week. He is addicted to them, but atleast he will eat them because he won't eat anything else. He doesn't really care for baby food and we have tried to put him on a schedule but it didn't seem to help much. He still just fusses and turns his head. A tooth finally broke the surface though so I don't know if that was part of the problem or not. He is currently running a slight fever and the gum is swollem so I think the next one is about to break the surface.

We are currently in the process of looking for a babysitter or daycare for Bradyn. As Mecca Cones gets ready to open Nana will not be able to watch him as much. I don't want him to have to be up there for 10-12 hours a day because it is not fair to him or Nana. but at the same time I am so upset about Daycare that just the thought of it makes me cry. I am such a freak that no one other then my mom has had him for any amount of time and the only other two people I have left him alone with is Jodie and Debbie and that was only for about an hour or two. I know he needs to socialize more because he is a big mama's boy and has a lot of stranger issues. He doesn't even like to go to my dad somedays or Joe, or his Grandpa Armstrong. I don't want to have the whining, crying kid that everyone is happy to see leave when we go places. But I am not ready to hand him over to strangers either. And when I am not at work I want to spend every waking moment with him.

Watching him grow and change. I don't know what I think that he is going to grow up, start talking and drive away in his own car if I go out to dinner. Its just the little thing I don't want to miss the letting go and standing by himself, clapping, or waving bye-bye. I fell I miss enough going to work. In all my dreams I never thought that I would want to be a stay at home but if we could afford to keep our lifestyle and do it I would quit in a heartbeat.  

Well I will get of the poor me and go play with my son and nephew. Love everyone and keep signing the guestbook so I know you are out there.

P.S. Congratulations to all our expecting friends and family

            Mike & Alissa, Dave & Charity, Joe &Sharon, Mark & Kathy, Wayne & Gina,  Lyndi Lou, Kelly, and Todd & Lorri

           May you all have safe and healthy pregnancies and delveries.

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March 17, 2008 Happy St. Patrick's Day! Bradyn's first St. Patrick's day was very nice. Papa, Nana, Aunt Jodie, Uncle Joe, Owen, and us got together for dinner. Corned beef and cabbage was very good. Grandma Cartwright also came over in the morning to see him and have breakfast. He had another outfit from Uncle Donny and Aunt Natalie but I will have to download pictures later. Thanks for lookingbut I must go to bed.

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Feb. 23, 2008     

Hope you feel better Aunt Jodie

We took Bradyn outside in the snow to play for the first time today. He wasn't to sure about it, but got ome cute picrtures. He tried to crawl in it but his gloves were to big. Again the family is sharing our feel bads. I was sick all week with a killer sore throat and cold. Then Jodie got it and Nana and Papa are not feeling well. Yesterday Bradyn vomitted everytime he ate but acted fine any other time. He did sleep a little more then usual. Today he woke up and ate breakfast and kept it down. However he wouldn't eat much all day and was kinda clingy and fussy. Now he has diarrhea glad I bought more pedilyte. I hope it is only a 48 hour bug because we just finished his antibotic from his ear infection. We go back to the doctors on Friday for his recheck and other dose of flu shot.

Other then illness things are pretty good here. I love this whole mom job. We are still having trouble with him sleeping and I just bought Dr. Ferbers book and the no cry sleep method. Now I just need to find time to read them.(Even though I'm told I read to much)  Any advice would be great.  He goes down about at 8-9 everynight bt doesn't stay there long and then is back up at least two more times during the night(after 11). Usually around 2 and 4. At 2 we try to et him back to sleep and bck in crib but at 4 he ends up in bed with us. Since he was sick he was sleeping with mom a lot and now that is the only place he wants to sleep. Right on my face or at least touching it. Although I love it and enjoy him sleeping next to me I know it is a bad habit to get into that I need to break both of us of. But they are only little once and he is so cute to watch sleep. Like the song my mom used to sing to us "I lie there beside you just watching you sleep and sometimes I whisper what I'm thinking of my cup runth over, with love". Corny I know but I am so in love with this little guy. It amazesme everyday that my love for him grows. Well I'll stop being so sappy love you guys and keep signing the guestbook so I don't think I am talking to myself.

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Fwb 14th, 2008   HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Bradyn helped me make PaPa, NaNa, Aunt Jodie and Owen cookies and cupcakes for Valentine's Day. He is really one move now crawling and standing up all over the place. I really have to keep an eye on him. When he is getting into somethin he is not supposed to be in he will look at you and grin when you tell him no. Looks just like PaPa's grin. Well gotta go to work. Thanks for looking and Aunt Jamey I know you are looking give us a call next time you are in town so we can get together.  

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Feb. 9th 2008 Happy Belated Birthday Gram!We had a birthday party for Grandma Phillips on Feb 3rd. It was nice to see everyone and all the kids together. Bradyn had to go back to the doctors on Friday. He made it through the shots well but has had a runny nose for three weeks. He has fluid on his right ear and still having the runny nose. So he is on an anitbotic, zyrtec, and ear drops. The Zyrtec is to help the running nose but its a good thing we give it to him at night only because it really knocks him out. Although he is still getting up at 3 everynight like clockwork. Last night when I went in to check on him at 3 he was standing in his crib. He has been crawling more everyday and trying to pull himself up.

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Jan 25 2008 Bradyn is doing great his reflux has gotten a ton better now he just drools everywhere and not spit up. We had an appointment today and he ot more shots. Please pray that these ones go better then the first two times.

B is now 27 inches tall, weighs 15lbs 15 ozs. and has an 18 inch head. The doctor said he is pleased that it stablized. He said he is developing great.He does want us to try to get him to eat more but said he is taking after his cousin Owen.

And he wants us to try letting him put himself to sleep even if that includes letting him cry. I don't like it at all I can't stand to hear him cry and I love our cuddle time. But I am told it will be better in the long run. We are trying it right now though and he keeps going to sleep and then waking up and screaming and if I would have held him he would have went to sleep and slept until 3-4.But I know it is for the best.

Thank you for looking and please sign the guestbook.

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Jan. 3 2008  

  Happy New Year Everyone!

Thanks for a wonderful holiday!

Well the holidays are coming to an end here at the Armstrong house. We had to take down our tree last night so the could deliver the TV Bud won at the Browns Game. I was sad ending the first holiday season but I am glad to have my living room back. At least somewhat now we have to find room for all of Bradyn's new toys. He was a bit spoiled. Thanks tou to everyone for making our holidays great. It was really nice to see Kelly, Mason and Bob while they were home and I hope we can get to see them this summer when they come home.

As you can see our little man is growing like a weed. He has started sitting up on own and he has started the Army crawl. Better going backwards then forwards but we are working on it. We have also started solids but he doesn't seem to like them. So if anyone has any suggestions on getting him to eat them I am all ears.

Well better be going he is up from his nap. Thanks for reading hope you enjoy the new pictures. And don't forget to sign the guestbook 

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Dec. 16, 2007 We are finally all geting back to normal however we gave nana our flu. Sorry nana we love you. Bradyn is finally getting rid of his cough and run nose. He still has the bump on his leg but it doesn't seem to bother him and it isn't red or hot anymore.  He is doing pretty good with eating cereal but doesn't care very much for green beans or peas. Him and whoever is feeding him wears more of it then he eats. Maybe carrots will be better.  I haven't figured out if the Pepcid is helping or not last night I tried not giving it to him and he spit up a ton and the night before and tonight I didn't give it to him and he barely spit up at all .

We are getting ready for Christmas I can't believe that it is next week. Bradyn has started rolling and if you don't watch him closely he will roll until he is under the tree and tries to eat it or grab a bulb. So all my breakable bulbs are up off the bottom now.  Well now that B is sleeping and I better get some present wrapped before going to bed for the night. Love everyone and hope to see you during the holidays. Keep signing the guestbook. All of the Christmas pictures were stolen from Jodie

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Dec. 1, 2007 Well we took our little man to the doctors for his 4 month checkup although he will be 5 months old Sunday. The doctor said that he is looking good, except he was concerned about the size of his head. He now weighs 14 lbs. 4 ozs., lower 25% a little small and is 26 1/2 , 90% tall a little tall. His head measures 17 1/4 inches.That puts him in the 70% a jum from the 50%.  I know that Bud has a big head but of course now I have all these scry things running through my head. I really need to stop reading things on the internet.

He also got his shots and got pretty sick from them he already had a touch of a cold and this really made it worse. I have spent the last three days holding him my arms and sleeping in a chair with him. No one would do but mommy and as much as I was feeling loved I also was a little overwelmed by it all.  I could not keep his fever broke and even with the tylenol it would only drop to 99.8. He also has some hot raised areas around the injection sight. And would not eat and couldn't poop. Poor little guy. 

I am thinking about having them seperate his next set of shots I think they are just to many at one time for his little system. But I don't know I am new at this and they are the doctors but I hate to see him sick and last time he got them it was a month of fighting whatever illness they gave him. I have done a lot of thinking about this and a lot of crying the last few days and have came to the realization that I am a freak mother that I never wanted to be but have finally realized why. I had three fears while I was pregnant and two of them came true. The first was gestational diabetes, the second was having to have a c-section. The third one I pray everyday that it never come true and that god knows I couldn't handle it and he only gives us what we can handle right? Well I am scaring and depressing myself just typing so I will get off the poor me box and get onto putting on pictures.

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Nov 23,2007    HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUD!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone. We had a great day here at the Armstrong household. PaPa, NaNa, Aunt Jodie, Uncle Joe,  Aunt Sonya, Uncle Dale, Aunt Sandy, Kylie, Zach, Grandpa Armstrong, Vicki, and Debbie all came over for dinner. I was freaking out before hand about everything being perfect but I think it all came off pretty well. Kylie came and stayed with us the night before to help with the baby and to cook and clean. She was a huge help, Thanks Ky. I made a turkey for the first time ever and I think it turned out pretty good although the one my dad deep fried was better. I dressed Bradyn in the outfit that Owen wore for his first Thanksgiving so we could compare even though B is almost 5 months and O was only a little over 2 months.

Bradyn is getting bigger everyday and learning something new everyday. He loves to play in his excersaucer and has learned to roll prett good from his tummy to his back. In about the last week or two he is starting to find his feet. They have not made it to his mouth yet but he will lay on his back holding them or staring at them in amazement. He never really did this with his hands although they are now always in his mouth. Even when he is trying to eat his bottle he tries to do it with one finger in his mouth. We are still having eating issues and now we are having pooping issues again but this time he can't get it out. His gas is awful and he spits up clearing stomach acid a lot. I put Karo in his bottles yesterday and it seems to get things moving some but we will see. The doctor said to try prune juice and I bought some just in case. We go next Thursday so I am going to talk to him about it. We also tried cereal and it makes him pretty gassy and then we have to give him gas drops but he loves it. If he doesn't have any then he doesn't sleep through the night he was doing great sleeping from 8 at night to 7 in the morning until they started messing with his formula. Now we get up every morning at 4 like clock work almost and the back up at 6-7 for the morning. Some nights we are back to getting up at 12 and 4.

I know they sometimes have a wakeful period at 4 months so I don't know if that is what we are going through and it is just perfect timing or if it is because of the formula problems. But I want some answers there are nights that I just rock him and cry because I don't know how to help him and noone will help me find out what to do. I just want to scream at the doctors my son is 5 months old I should know what to feed him by now. And I am a new mom and might freak out a lot but when he is up screaming arching his back or pulling his legs up from stomach pain and spitting up all over both of us or choking on the acid he is spitting up there is a problem. But I will stop complaining about the doctors now because for the most part I do have a healthy and happy baby. It is just frustrating.

Well I need to get some pictures on so talk to you all soon love everyone. Keep signing the guestbook so I know you are looking. And hope everyone had a great THanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season.

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Oct. 28, 2007 We took the boys to the pumpkin patch today to take pictures and get pumpkins. It was very cold but we got some great shots anyways. We also took them to the mall to see the new shark tanks. Owen loved them and Bradyn stared at them and all the colors. We the rode some of the rides they have at the mall and Owen had to drive his baby on the motorcycle like papa.

We are all fighting colds here. I joked that you can tell we are a close family because when one gets sick we all got it. Even Bradyn wasn't spared in the cough and running nose. I think we are all on the back end of it though hopefully. I  have not been taking anything for my cold because I am afraid it will knock me out and I actually miss a Nyquil sleep. But I think having to stay active with him has helped me forget how bad I feel. It strange how different everything even having a cold is once you become a mother.

Well it is bed time for B and so I am going to go put him down and try to get some sleep myself. Hope you like the pictures and talk to you all soon. Keep looking and signing the guestbook.

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Oct 16,2007 We took Bradyn back to the Gastro doctor on Thursday the 11th. He weighs 12 lbs. 12 ozs. and is 25 inches long. The doctor said things are looking good and that he wants to try and put him back on Similac but to wean him off of the Isomil and back onto it. So we are trying he is still spitting up a lot and has a lot of gas but it seems to be getting better with each day. He said if all is well in 6 weeks we actually go back on Dec 6 then he will graduate and we will not have to go back to him. I am glad although I am not really impressed with what he has done and it doesn't seem that he has not done anything that Dr. Guru couldn't have done but oh well live and learn.

I am so bad about Bradyn and the doctors and everything though I am a freak and out of control. I kept saying oh I am going to be a cool calm and collective mother and i am so far from it. I worry about everything and then some. I need to go to overprotive parent support groups or something. But I am trying to do better with it. Well he is alseep so I better go get something done before Bud comes home from work. Just really wanted to get some new shots on here because he changes so often.

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Oct 7, 2007 My little guy is 3 months old already! I can;t believe it has been that long since he was born. In fact this is the month we found out he was on his way so it has been a year since I was pregnant. Amazing! Things are getting better I still would rather be home with him but work is getting better. He is growing like a weed we had to pack away all the newborn cloths and get out the 0-3 months. So for anyone planning on cloths for Christmas I would say at least 3-6. We are still going to the Gastroenterologist the pooping problem is under control but we still have spitting up and a lot of gas. (I blame Bud) He went from not spitting up at all to spitting up a ton. We had to put him back on Zantac to see if it helps and go back next Thursday.

Bradyn is finding his voice this week he is talking up a storm and starting to laugh a little. He has also found his hands somewhat he does good with his right but not his left. The right fist is always in his mouth and he is bring everything up to his mouth with it, his blanket, his taggie, his Nuk, little rings and sometimes Buxy's tail. He never really stares at them though the way I was told he would. Now his feet he things those are the strangest thing ever he will sit in his bouncy seat and just stare at them. I keep telling him "mommy knows they are big" he is in a size 2 and I had to go buy socks because he is in 6-12 month socks.

Well hope all is well with everyone and signing the guestbook. We love you all and hope to see you all soon.

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Sept 25,2007  Well I am now back to work and it stinks. I hate it so much and want to be home with my loving little man so bad. But I hope it will get better. My poor little boy got sick right after his shots on Sept 6th. he has had diarrhea and we have had to change his formula and are now seeing a gastroenterologist. He was almost put in the hospital twice but we managed to keep him hydrated enough to keep him out of there. Now we just need to get his bowels back under control. Poor Bud had to go to Vegas, for work, in the middle of it and was so upset he wanted to stay home. But we got through it! Thank you mom for all your help that week and for our sleepover the night I was trying to keep him from going to the hospital.  

The gastroenterologist has him off of the Zantac, on Isomil formula, making his bottles with bottled water and giving him cereal first at night and now in morning and night. It seems to be helping with his pooping problem but he is still very gassy and we are having to give gas drops very often. We go back on Thursday so we will see what he has to say.

Well if I want to get any pictures on here I better go. Love you all and keep signing the guest book.

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Sept 6, 2007 We took Bradyn for his second doctors visit and his first set of shots today. It was so heart breaking to hold his little arms while the nurse gave him four shots. He did very well with them and really was only tired from them. A little fussy at his normal time but other then that the only other thing was he hasn't eaten much today. He also came down with diarrhea yesterday so we have to watch him and change his formula to Soy based for a few days. The doctor also put him on Zantac twice a day to see if that would help with his 7-9 screaming fest that he has started having. He seems to get very gassy at this time of night so we have to try it for a week and then call the doctor back.

 As for how big he has gotten he is 11 pounds 7 ounces ( 6lbs 9.3 ozs at birth) and 23 3/4 inches long (19 1/2 a birth). That puts him in the 75% for weight, and 50% for lenght and head. So far he has not caught up with Bud's head size at birth so hopefully he got my head.

I got his hospital picture in the mail today and it doesn't even look like him I already can't remember him that small and it has only been 9 weeks. I said I am afraid to close my eyes because my baby is now my little guy and if I do he is going to be my big boy before I know it. I new I would like being a mom because I love being and Aunt and seeing Owen grow and change but I was never prepared to fall head of heels this fast.

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Sept. 3 2007 Happy Labor Day! And Happy Bierthday to Dawn, Cassie, and Amanda.

My little guy is 2 months old as of yesterday. I can't believe how fast the time is going or how big he is getting already. Everyone says they don't stay babies for long and boy are they right. He is already almost out of his newborn outfits and into 0-3 months. We go on Thursday the 6th to get his first set of shots. Then Bud leaves on Sunday the 9th. for Las Vegas until the 13th. So please keep us in your thoughts and prayers that he makes it there and back safely and that I don't go insane as a temporary single mother. I don't know how they do it! Love everyone and thanks for looking please sign the guestbook so I don't think I'm talking to myself.

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Aug. 14, 2007 Okay you guys asked for it here are some more pictures of our little man. Things are going well for the most part we are adjusting. Still can't get Buxy to leave his pacifers alone but I think that will be an endless battle. Also he was sleeping for 4-5 hours at a time and has decided that mom doesn't need that much sleep so he is now getting up every 2-3 hours. And usually every hour from 5-8 in the morning so mom gets to watch the early news and the Today show. He has also decided that 11:00 pm makes a good bed time and that from 8-11 is party time. I know those are some of the joys of motherhood.

So far I think that we have found a formula that works. Other then he has now taken to spit up some. Which I thought was a lot but he wasn't spitting up at all and I guess all kids eventually spit up some. We do still have to give him the gas drops pretty regularly or he won't burp and then screams. And his hiccups are awful he even gets them in his sleep and they wake him up. I was told to try Gripe Water for the hiccups but have never heard of it. Anyone use this before?

Well I hope you enjoy the pictures and the update and if anyone has any suggestions on sleeping or the hiccups I am all ears.

P.S. Speaking of ears Aunt Bobby notice anything with my sons ears?

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