Category Archives: baby

all these post are from baby.sheley.org about our boy Leo Mason Sheley

Motherhood – The Lessons I’ve Learned

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Eight weeks and one day ago I became a mother. It feels like just yesterday, yet, seems so long ago, all at the same time. I’ve learned so much, felt so much, been so happy and been so tired… and all along I’ve been so proud of my little man and my family. He’s growing, and we’re growing. And every day our bond becomes stronger. During this time of growth, I’ve learned a few lessons along the way:

1. Diapers – You get what you pay for. We’ve tried lots of different brands, and we’ve came to one conclusion, Huggies are the only way to go for our little Leo. The kid is a poop & pee machine, and the other diapers just can’t seem to contain it. Pee leaks out the top, poop shoots out the back and the other miscellaneous forms squish out around the legs. For what we save by going with the cheaper diapers, I spend in stain stick. But good old Huggies seem to do the trick, at least more times than not.

2. Clothes – Between hand-me-downs and garage sales, it’s possible to get an entire season wardrobe for less than $20. Although there are some cute things in the stores, we’ve never really had to buy them. We’ve been fortunate enough to get some awesome stuff through garage sales, consignment sales and hand-me-downs. And of course, there’s all the fantastic gifts from the grandmas, great grandma and our friends.

3. Advice – You get good advice and bad. I’ve learned to smile graciously and accept it, and then I follow my mother’s instinct. Sometimes the advice is really useful and opens you up to a whole new set of possibilities, other times, not so much. I’ve followed my gut and so far everything’s turned out just fine.

4. Happiness – It’s different for everyone. As much as I love Leo, for me to be truly happy, I have to go to work. I enjoy the challenges and opportunities my job provides me, and know that I’m a better mom for it. I know Leo is able to tell when Brandon or I are stressed out, and the best way for me to de-stress is to get out of the house and go to work. My co-workers at jones huyett Partners are my friends and my extended family. They are a great support system and I need them in my life.

5. Childcare – Stay at home dads rock! Brandon’s great with Leo. He makes it easy for me to return to work, because I know that Leo’s in good hands. He’s everything I was expecting he’d be as a father and then some. And even though there are hard days, I know that there are very few people that I’d trust my child with as much as I trust Brandon. As always, he’s my perfect balance and helps make this family work.

Leo’s 1-Month Pictures

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We took Leo to Sears Portrait Studio for his first professional photo shoot last week when he was about 5 1/2 weeks old.

I had been tracking his sleep schedule for several days and intentionally scheduled the photoshoot for 3pm knowing that he had been wide awake and happy the past few days at that time. But, of course, not on picture day… instead he was sound asleep when we arrived.

Brandon and I poked and prodded and tickled and jostled, but to no avail. Leo did not want to wake up. When we were able to get him to open his eyes (after we stripped him down to just his diaper), he was crying and fussy the majority of the time until he fell back to sleep.

After about a half-hour, the photographer announced, “I think we’ve got it.” And of course, within 2 minutes of that announcement Leo decided to wake up and become the bright-eyed happy boy that he usually is.

At first I was a little disappointed, but after I saw the proofs I felt better. The photographer was still able to capture a few with Leo awake and there were several good options to choose from. It’s probably best that Leo hadn’t been too cute, because I probably would have ended up spending a fortune!

Leo’s First Trip Out of State

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Leo and I traveled down to Seminole, Oklahoma with my parents to visit my sister Amy for a long weekend from April 18-20. We didn’t tell Amy that Leo & I were coming, so it was a huge surprise as I pulled Leo’s car seat out of the car and she saw us for the first time. She screamed, “Leo’s here!”

Leo was such a great traveler! We were in the car for about 5 1/2 hours each way, and he barely cried a peep – thanks mainly to grandma who sat in the backseat beside Leo so she could soak up some baby-time.

On the ride home, grandma got a little more than she bargained for as she changed Leo’s diaper on her lap … he pooped all over her! Luckily we were in the parking lot of a Brahm’s and she had an extra change of clothes handy, so she was able to go inside and get cleaned up pretty quickly.

The worst part of the trip had to be the preparation and all of the packing. Who would have know that such a little guy would require so much stuff for a 3-day stay! In the end, I did a good job estimating what he’d need and packing stuff for him. But, not so good for myself as I forgot to pack any warm clothes and, of course, it was cold and rainy pretty much the whole time we were there!

We had a great trip, but I’m still not sure we’ll be planning any other out-of-state ventures anytime soon.

4 Weeks Old

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Leo is officially 4 weeks old today, and he is growing like a weed (albeit a cute, lovable one)!

He has officially outgrown all of outfits that were size 3-months, so we had to make a shopping trip yesterday to pick up some 6-months sleepers. I hope they will last a little longer.

Leo’s really starting to develop a great little personality. He’s very laid back, and doesn’t spend much time crying.

Over the last week Leo’s eyes have started focusing in on objects and he studies them for awhile (including mommy & daddy). He loves ceiling fans and can stare at them for long periods of time, even if they aren’t moving! He’ll make the funniest range of faces when he’s looking at his “ceiling fan buddies”. I like to pretend that he’s holding conversations with them – sometimes he’ll smile and almost break into a giggle, and other times he’ll scrunch up his face and give a tough guy look.

Leo’s also started “talking” to us. He’s gotten pretty consistent at making sounds other than crying. Usually they are vowel sounds, but he’ll also throw out the occasional grunt, babble or squeal of delight (usually at the ceiling fan).

We’ve really started to put emphasis on making sure Leo gets a little tummy time each day so he can strengthen his neck and upper body muscles. Unfortunately, Leo isn’t really a fan of tummy time. He usually gets pretty frustrated after about 5 minutes because he’s not able to move around the way he wants to. He’s pretty good about being able to pick his head up to a 45 degree angle, and can hold it for awhile. But he struggles at turning his head over to look the other way. We’ve only had success with him doing it twice so far. But his little legs are very active the whole time he’s on his belly – they are ready to crawl!

Leo’s First Bottle

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A few days ago Brandon finally got a chance to feed little Leo as we introduced his first bottle. Both dad and Leo did a great job, just like they’d been doing it for years. Leo drank two ounces of milk and Brandon completed the job without any help from me (despite the fact that I was hovering over them, you know, just in case…).

At the next feeding time, Leo converted right back to his regular breastfeeding routine, just as if the bottle never happened. I shouldn’t have been surprised – my big boy is an eater, no matter where it comes from!

Now we’re now trying to give Leo a bottle twice a day and starting to establish a routine that will work after I return to jhP from maternity leave.

Here’s a video Brandon shot while feeding.