Happy One-Month Birthday, Mr. Ru!

We made it to the one month mark. The "hardest" month is behind us and I like to think we came out pretty successful.  Rudy had his one-month doctor's appointment this morning.  He is weighing in at 10 lbs, 7 ounces and 23 inches long.  He is in the 68th percentile for weight and 92nd percentile for height.  Being that tall, she said his weight was right on track.  He is on the high end of what they would want babies to gain from his last appointment, which was a huge relief for me because I worry about him getting enough milk...considering I have about no idea how much he eats each time.  Everything else checked out great.  He had to have one shot and he was not happy about it.  She also recommended some gas drops to help out our gassy baby.  Hopefully those will work and give Rudy some relief.  Hard to believe its been a month already...the days can drag, but the weeks fly by.  It feels like we have had Rudy forever.  He's the greatest.  

I took a video of Rudy squirming around and mumbling after I took these pictures...it took me a bit to figure out how to get it on this blog, but I did it.  This has opened up a whole new world of sharing! (oh and it's a bit long.  I was going to make just one minute, then two minutes, then three, and so on. But he just kept on being cute!  So I don't blame you if you don't make it through all 5 minutes)

Rudy's first football game

Well it didn't take long to get Rudy to a football game. We went to cheer on "Uncle" George at the SHG v Lanphier game on Friday night. It was pretty hot so we only made it until half time, but we got to see George catch a pass which was great!

John has been anticipating the start of football season like Christmas morning. He has lots of plans for some serious couch time with him and Rudy over the next several weeks.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to see Tony perform but we were thinking about him!  Rudy is still too little and needy to make the trip to Bloomington just yet.

Come one, come all

Rudy has been very fortunate to get to spend some time with lots of family and friends.  Here are some pictures from the hospital with his grandparents.

We have had lots of visitors from all over and we are so grateful! Uncle Tony came home from Bloomington the day Rudy was born.

 The Keoughs came from Iowa and the Minellas from Chicago came the first weekend home.

Rudy got a taste of what he will be in for when he's able to run around with his cousins!

Aunt Maria came all the way from DC the weekend of August, even during hurricane Irene!  (She took lots of great pictures, but I don't have one of her with Rudy yet)  Great, great Aunt Ga-Ga from Kentucky, great Aunt Sue from Chicago, and great Aunt Michelle and great Uncle Burch from St Louis all came last weekend.  And just about everyone in town has made their way over, at least once! (Check out Facebook for more pictures...too many to post them all!)

And with all these visitors, I've decided Rudy is a show-off. He is such a good baby around guests. My dad keeps asking, "does he ever cry?" Rudy's true colors come out when it's just him and his mama especially. John has gotten a couple good doses, too. He is a perfectly sweet baby for us too, but his dark side never seems to come out around anyone else.  But I promise you, he does cry!!

Finally fall weather!

With this great weather we have been having, we have been able to get out for some much needed walks. Yesterday the Ru's and I went out for the first time by ourselves. I was pretty nervous taking Rufus along without someone else to hold on to his leash while I take the stroller. Believe it or not, Rufus isn't the best behaved dog on walks (or ever really). But before leaving, John guilted me into it. We actually did pretty good -- much better than I was expecting. Of course Rufus tried to greet a couple dogs crazily, but otherwise he walked with me right by the stroller. And Rudy stayed awake the whole time which was nice seeing his bright eyes happy. He is very content in his stroller. He coo's and ahh's, moves his hands around, and looks at everything (what he can actually see, who knows, but he looks like he's looking!).

"Rootin, tootin, Rudy"

My poor baby has been having some stomach issues. Here has been our last couple days:
Friday, September 2: poop at 6:15 pm
Sunday, September 4: poop at 4 am (and a real crab monster starting about 3 pm on Saturday)
Tuesday, September 6: poop at 10 am (and a rotten mood starting at about 4 am)
During these bad spells, we try everything possible.  Bouncing, swaying, rocking, swinging, singing, every position imaginable.  I even tried my Baby Bjorn...worked for about 5 minutes (like everything else) until he was ready to switch positions.  On a side note, the Baby Bjorn was really easy to use and actually very comfortable.  Hopefully he will take a liking to it...will make running around the house and getting things done much easier!

Anyway, when he does finally go, it's the same color and consistency as it's always been...so he shouldn't be constipated. But in between bowels, he is pretty gassy. And from his mood swings, we think it is uncomfortable for the little guy. I called the doc yesterday morning to see what they thought and if there was anything we could do to relieve his pain. She said it was perfectly normal for breastfed babies to go up to several days without a poop. As long as it still looks the same, then there is no reason for concern. However, if the baby is uncomfortable with too much gas, it could be a food allergy. And the one that seems to cause the problem the most often is cows milk. So see ya later milk for me! She said definitely no milk, but I could have small, limited amounts of other dairy. The plan is to try this for a week or so and see if he acts any better. Fingers crossed this takes care of our problem!