rolly polie

this video is for the grandparents. enjoy.
rolling for the first time at 20 weeks old.
He's also learning to sit up on his own...he's getting too big too fast!

4 months

I am a few weeks late but here are Dax's 4 month stats:

26 & 1/2 inches (95%)
16 pounds 12 ounces (80%)

Needless to say he is a BIG boy.

He is:

-sitting up with support
-grabbing at his toys
-beginning to giggle
-developing a preference for Mommy
-taking 3 naps instead of 4
-sleeping 9 to 10 hours at night
-prefers to sleep in his car seat
-will only sleep while swaddled
-wears a size 3 diaper
-wears some 3-6 months clothes but mostly 6-9 month
-is the smiliest baby ever
-has the worlds biggest cheeks
-loves to look at himself in the mirror
-loves peek-a-boo
-ADORES being sung to
-will sit in his bumbo and watch Baby Einstein so Mom can make dinner
-loves playing "super Dax" with Daddy
-is changing everyday

Tummy Time

I finally figured out how to make Dax enjoy tummy time. I just put a pillow under his chest and then he is happy as can be.

Photo Shoot

My mom came to town last weekend and she wanted to take Dax to JCPenny to do some photos. I was a little skeptical, but they actually turned out to be REALLY cute.

3 months

Daxton turned three months on January 5th!

At three months Dax is:

-Fitting nicely into his 3-6 months clothes.
-Wearing a size 2 diaper.
-Eating 5-6 ounces of formula at a time.
-Probably close to 15 pounds.
-Spitting up more than he ever has in the past.
-Taking 3-4 naps during the day.
-Sleeping 8-9 hours at night...most of the time!
-Still loving his baths.
-Cooing and smiling a lot more now.
-Holding his head up very well.
-Hating his bumbo because he can't kick his legs while in it.
-LOVING his play gym.
-Loving when Mommy sings to him...especially "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Give said the Little Stream"
-Liking to watch "the Lion Sleeps Tonight" on You-Tube
-Squirming all around his crib, even though he is swaddled.
-Screaming at every stop light when we are in the car.
-Able to stay awake for almost 90 minutes at a time.
-Still eating extremely slow, he takes anywhere from 25-45 minutes to drink a bottle.
-The center of attention all the time.
-The love of our lives!

*I really cannot believe our son is growing up so fast. I miss the tiny newborn phase but am also loving this new interactive phase too. I just want him to stay little forever. I love you Daxton!

All my parenting questions

Baby Dax has been congested and had a cough for the last 10 days and the little bugger of a cold will just not go away. We have tried everything from herbs to saline nose drops to putting him in a steamy bathroom. He sleeps in his car seat to keep him slightly upright which thankfully has helped him to get a good nights sleep. I have called an advise nurse and she said I am already doing everything that she could suggest. So now I want to ask all you seasoned parents out there if you have any other suggestions?

On to my next question...I am an On Becoming Babywise fanatic. I started following the book when Dax was four weeks when a friend suggested I try it since I was pretty much on the brink of insanity. It has saved Kelly and I in more ways than I can tell you. Dax is on a 3 hour schedule. Except after 10 PM I let him sleep and he usually wakes up between 6 & 7 AM. (Hallelujah for sleeping through the night!) My problem is that in order to get him to eat every 3 hours I almost always have to wake him up from his nap. I tried a few days ago to let him sleep as long as he wanted and because of it, he ended up only having 5 & 1/2 feedings rather than his normal 6. That night he woke up at 3:30 AM wanting to eat. My question is, is it okay for me to keep waking him every 3 hours or would it be better for me to let him sleep during the day? and At what age should I start stretching out his feedings to 3 & 1/2 or 4 hours? (He is 3 months old BTW.)

Lastly, Dax gets swaddled while he sleeps. Lately he has been breaking free and whenever he gets an arm loose, he wakes up screaming. He will not go back to sleep unless I go in and re-swaddle him. Do you think its time for me to stop swaddling, if so, do you have any suggestions of how to do that?


*I would love any and all advise anyone can give.* Thanks!

Baby in White

Daxton was given a name and a blessing today and it was absolutely perfect. We woke up to -15 degree weather but it warmed up this afternoon and turned out to be a wonderful day. Kelly blessed him to be a good example for others, to be healthy, to be married in the temple, and to always have faith in his Father in Heaven. It was a beautiful blessing and Dax was a perfect angel for the whole thing.

Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious

Last weekend Kelly, Dax, My Mom and Dad and I made the trip to So Cal so my mom and I could go see Mary Poppins the musical. Dax was WONDERFUL for the entire car ride. We only had to stop once to feed and change him. He had gotten his 2 month immunizations the morning we left and they made him really sleepy so he was asleep the whole time.


My brother Jared and his family live in LA so it was fun to be able to see them as well as the play. Mary Poppins was fantastic and even though I missed Dax tremendously, it was fun to have an afternoon off.


An update on our family: We are moving back to Rexburg at the end of next week. Kelly is loading up the car and trailer and driving part of the way to Salt Lake on Thursday. Dax and I are flying to SLC on Friday morning where Kelly will meet us. Then we're all heading to Idaho Falls where we will stay Friday night until we can get into our apartment Saturday morning. We will unpack for a few days and then head to Star Valley, WY to meet the ENTIRE Allred clan for Christmas. Dax is also going to be blessed in SV on Dec. 27th. Kelly's final semester of his undergrad starts Jan. 5th.

Dax is growing so like wildfire and is quickly growing out of the newborn stage. I love him more and more everyday and feel truly lucky to have healthy, happy baby.

Baby Dax and his Daddy sit like this when they watch the Chargers together.Daxy and his Grandma are good friends.

2 Months

Baby Dax is 2 months old today! I really cannot believe he is growing up so fast. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was in the hospital delivering him. Even thought I wish he would stay tiny forever, he is growing into really fun stage of his short little life.

Stats:

11 pounds 11 ounces...54th percentile

22 & 3/4 inches...46th percentile

New Milestones:

Smiling at his mommy and daddy

Moving his head to watch something exciting

Cooing and making adorable noises

He is much better at laying down and playing by himself

Only wakes up once in the night...thanks to Babywise

Loves Jingle Bells and The Twelve Days of Christmas

Has outgrown his Newborn size clothes

Wears a size one diaper

When we put the burp cloth under his chin, he instinctively opens his mouth and looks for his bottle...he knows its coming

Still has painful gas

Is fussy almost every night from 6 to 7

Is the the love of our lives!

Picture Time

Grandma and Grandpa with their 3 Grandsons! We've been waiting a long time to be able to take this photo.

Baby Dax and his cousin Ryker are BFF's.

It was really windy outside when we took this photo. Poor baby Dax was cold. We only took about 6 photos before giving up because it was too windy and cold!

We're So In Love...

...with this little guy and couldn't be more GRATEFUL to call him our son. Happy Thanksgiving!

Date Night

Our local Nordstrom was having a promotion, free New Moon tickets for buying their clothes. It was a win win situation for me since I love their clothes and I wanted to see the movie. Nordstrom bought out the entire theater and showed Twilight in all 14 theaters. It was a sneak preview so we got to see it Thursday night at 9:30. Kelly and I liked it and loved being able to get out and spend time together. Daxy had fun at home with his Grandma and Grandpa!

Like Father Like Son

Kelly's mom sent these to me a few weeks ago. He definitely looks like his Daddy!

One Month Old

This first month of Dax's life has been quite the roller coaster. I can't believe it has already been an entire month. I feel like I am finally starting to get the hang of this whole being a mom thing. In his first month of life I have learned that Dax:

• Adores the sound of the blow dryer (I went out and bought a white noise machine today).
  
• Is often content in his swing.


• Will usually wake up as soon as I lay him in his crib.


• Would probably eat all day if I let him.


• Likes being swaddled.


• Usually sleeps about 45 minutes at a time (day and night), the longest he will go is 2 hours.


• Is the happiest when laying on Mommy or Daddy's chest.


• Gets cranky in the evening.


• Likes his bath but hates getting out.


• Is a very colicy baby but we couldn't love him more!

First Halloween

Daxy's first Halloween was spent sleeping and eating. We also went out to breakfast and went and saw Uncle Chaddy's new house in Concord. Dax had two adorable little outfits and he wore them both. Halloween day was followed by a night with NO sleep. He literally slept about 3 hours the entire night, usually in 30 minute increments. Needless to say it was a long night and we are all tired...including Daxton. I'm really hoping this sleeping thing gets better soon. :) I hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween!

Bath Time!

Dax's cord didn't fall off until he was 17 days old so I was finally able to give him his first bath. He never liked having sponge baths but he loved being submerged in the warm water. He almost always has his hands up by his face.

3 Week Stats

Dax had his 3 week appointment on Monday. The doctor said he looks really healthy and was impressed by him. When she walked in the room he was laying on the table looking and my mom and I. She immediately commented that he looked like he was smiling at us. We asked if that was possible and she said it is very rare, but babies can smile that early. So here are the stats...

8 pounds 7 ounces (29th percentile)
21 inches (60th percentile)

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Allred came to visit this weekend. We had so much fun and I'm glad they were able to come and meet Daxton while he is still so little. Kelly's parents were WONDERFUL and even took feeding shifts during the night so Kelly and I could get some much needed sleep. Thanks McKell and Glenae!

A Baby Story

Here's my labor story:

On Monday morning I had a doctors appointment and they stripped my membranes. The doctor said there was a 50/50 chance I would go into labor within 12 hours of the procedure. I was more than ready to meet my son so I also took Castor oil that afternoon. After the effects of the Castor oil wore off it was about 4:00 PM and still no contractions. I was disappointed.

My mom got home from work around 5:00 and we decided to go for a walk to see if that would jump start anything. Within about 10 minutes I was having contractions 3 minutes apart. I could still walk and talk through them but they were coming fast. We decided to head home and see if the contractions would continue if I sat down. When we got home I had a little bloody show and my contractions continued but they were getting stronger and closer together.

My mom called Kelly and told him to head home but he was already on his way. I called labor and delivery and told them how far apart my contractions were as well as my other symptoms. They told me that I would be okay to stay home for another hour or I could go to the hospital and see if I was far enough along to be admitted. I opted to stay home for another hour since I didn't have the option of having an epidural (I had a previous spine surgery that made an epidural risky) I wanted to labor at home as long as I could. Within an hour the contractions were quite painful and still every 2-3 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital.

Once we got to the hospital around 8:15 PM they hooked me up to the monitor and tracked the baby's heart rate and my contractions for 20 minutes. They were in fact real contractions and were still coming every 2-3 minutes. The midwife came in and checked me and I was 5 cm dilated and 90% effaced. I was excited because I was still managing the contractions well and I was already halfway there! I requested the room with the labor tub and was anxious to get in the tub. I had heard laboring in the water really helped with pain management. I had to wait till they started an IV and anesthesia wanted to talk to me about what we would do in the case of a cesarean section. By the time we were done with all that it was 9:45 and I was beginning to think I couldn't handle the pain anymore. Then, just before I was about to get in the tub, my water broke...weirdest feeling ever! I got in the tub and it seemed to help me relax. The contractions were still really painful but the warm water felt good on my body.

After only 10 minutes in the tub I was moaning and groaning from the pain and then I suddenly felt the urge to push. I was whisked out of the tub and checked; I was 9 cm and fully effaced. The nurse was rushing because she hadn't had time to finish her paper work. No one was expecting things to progress so quickly since this was my first baby. I was in extremely intense pain. The midwife came in and told me I could follow the natural urges I had to push.

I started pushing around 10:40. I definitely felt the "ring of fire" as his head was coming out but I was relieved to be pushing because I knew the pain would be over soon. I did about 6 sets of pushes and once his head was out the rest of him came easily. They immediately put him on my chest and I was instantly in love. I have never felt a greater sense of accomplishment in my entire life. I can humbly say that I was so proud of myself and surprised that the pain really does go away as soon as the baby is out. I had to be stitched up which took about 45 minutes, but I wasn't so bad because I was in "la la land" holding my son.

Labor was one of the more painful things I have gone through but it was all worth it and I couldn't be more in love with Daxton!

My baby is a genius...he is holding his own bottle at 6 days old!

Introducing...

Daxton Eric Allred

7 pounds 5 ounces

19.5 inches

October 5, 2009

11:04 PM

2 weeks to go

I have two weeks and 1 day until my due date and I could not be more excited! I can't wait to meet my son. The baby has definitely dropped and I have had an easier time breathing but more pressure and a strong urge to pee all the time!! I've had a few contractions but nothing consistent yet. My next appointment isn't till Oct. 5th but I will keep you all updated if anything happens before then.

Monday Night Football

Kelly has been waiting months to watch the Chargers play in Monday night football against the Raiders. It's been an interesting game in this house since we have a few Raiders fans and a few Chargers fans. He is yelling at the TV as I type this. I love that he gets so involved in the games...its cute. I can't wait till he can watch football with his son.

New Camera

I have been wanting to purchase an SLR for a while and finally decided to bite the bullet and get this one. Its a Canon Rebel T1I. I'm still learning to use it but thus far I LOVE IT! I'm glad I got it and I can't wait to take pictures of my little one with it.

This was the first photo I took with my new camera. Kiki (my nephew Nicholas, he calls himself Kiki) was a good sport about me chasing him around and taking pictures of him.