On Saturday, September 11, Ryan brought home a Bumbo after school. I was really excited--since I quit my job, I didn’t think we’d be able to get one for him until he was too big for it. I’ve heard great things about them! We let Max sit in it and he was so smiley when we first put him in it! We have a video, but the file size is too big and I’ve been frustrated trying to resize the videos from our good camcorder to send videos to Ryan at work… So I’ll just share one of the pictures we got of him in it!
On Sunday, September 12, we put Ryan’s car up for sale on KSL. If you know anyone who is interested, please let us know! Here’s the posting for it on KSL’s website:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=733005&nid=443&tab=list%2Fview&ad=3102756.
And here’s a picture of it…
Max was so smiley that day. It was a lot of fun to see him that way!
Also on Sunday, we bought Max’s first Halloween costume!! It is way cute! And we’re not telling what it is--you’ll have to wait until Halloween to see it! But I will tell you that Mommy and Daddy are getting costumes to go with his! ;-)
On Tuesday, September 14, my friend Amber came by to give me an invitation to her baby shower. She brought Cameron, her baby girl. It was fun to see how different our babies are and it was fun to have a friend stop by and visit.
Ryan and I have been trying to find a plain brown beanie for Max to wear on Halloween but have not had any luck. So we’re opting to maybe have him just wear the one in the pictures below. It doesn’t quite match his costume, but it’s cute on him, anyway!
Max kicks his legs a lot. It seems like he ALWAYS needs to be moving! He’s no longer favoring only his left side--he moves ALL of his extremities! On Wednesday, September 15, he kicked so much during Tummy Time that he actually rotated himself. It took him two minutes to wind up here--he started with his head towards my feet and rotated to his left!
On Thursday, September 16, Max had a surgical consultation with Dr. Downey. Originally the appointment was scheduled for the 28th, but UVRMC called and could get us in sooner, so we decided to go there. Dr. Downey was really nice and helpful. Dr. Gibson had us convinced that Max was going to need surgery and that he was going to need it right away. But Dr. Downey told us exactly what I’ve read--that hydroceles are common in baby boys and that surgery is not necessary unless they don’t go away on their own within the first year of life.
Ryan finally got to see Max roll for the first time in real life this day, too! It was a pretty good day. I’m glad things went so well.
Such a boy!
Snoozin' during Tummy Time!
On Saturday, September 18, I went to Amber’s baby shower. It was fun to see her, but I didn’t know anyone else there. Ryan was excited that I was getting out of the house so he could have a Father-Son Day with Max. It is always hard for me to leave without Max--this was only the third time I’ve ever done it. But I think it is important that he and Ryan get to spend some time together and I’m glad that they get at least some opportunities to do so! I was glad to go home and see BOTH of my boys, though!
Daddy lifting Max up in the air! Working on keeping those neck muscles strong and steady!
My Dad grows a garden every year. This year he grew giant pumpkins and gave Max the first pick for one to carve! So on Sunday, September 19, we went to his house for dinner and to pick one out! We did some Tummy Time while we were there and Max rolled for my family, too!
The marks on his face from sucking that binkie crack me up!
The Max Man and his pumpkin! Thanks, Grandpa Leonard!!
Grandpa and Max in the pumpkin patch!
Max and his pumpkin!
Daddy and Max!
Mommy and Max!
Daddy, Mommy, and Max!
Max with his Grandpa Leonard, Michelle, and his pumpkin!
On Monday, it was the two-year anniversary of Ryan’s and my wedding.
Thank you again to Angela Liddle of Angela Marie Photography--I LOVE our wedding pictures!!
During the day while Ryan was at work, Max and I went to the store to get him a gift. I looked online and discovered that for two-year anniversaries, you are supposed to give each other gifts made of cotton. So I bought Ryan a polo shirt (he’s been looking for one he likes for a couple months). I also got him a card game for us to play, a Dr. Pepper, and some chocolates (Ry is such a chocoholic!). On our way home from the store, I stopped at a floral shop and bought a white rose. We are supposed to give each other a rose every year on our anniversary--it was part of our wedding ceremony. Anyway, when Max and I got home, we both made cards for Ryan.
The card I made for Ryan!
A surprise for Daddy when he gets home from work!
Close-up of Max's card to Mommy and Daddy!
Ryan came home from work with a couple new shirts for me, which I love! He also got me a wooden bowl which I have been wanting to buy for years!! I was really excited.
Max was pretty fussy during the day, but we wanted to keep him with us, anyway. I know a few people were excited that it was our anniversary and that we were going to need a babysitter, but I just couldn’t part with him. So Ryan and I took him to dinner at Shoga with us. I LOVE Shoga’s Spider Rolls! It has been forever since I’ve been able to eat sushi! So that was nice. After dinner, we went to a park in Orem we’ve been to a few times in the past. But, there were lots of bugs out and Ry started feeling kind of sick, so we went home. It had started getting dark by that time anyway.
A while after we got home, we got Max settled in his crib. Ryan and I had some champagne and some of our wedding cake, and we watched “Date Night.” I thought it was kind of funny, but Ry wasn’t a big fan.
Ryan and I have been together for almost six and half years now and have been married for two! It’s hard to believe it’s been so long! But I am grateful for every moment I’ve gotten to share with him. The past two years have been the best two. Some things have been hard and some things have been easy, but I love him so much and I know he loves me. I’m glad we have this bond to share together and I’m so happy that we were able to start our own little family this year.
On Tuesday, September 21, my sister-in-law, Melissa, had her ultrasound. She’s having a BOY!! We are so excited that we are getting yet another nephew (so far we have two nephews and NO nieces!) and that Max is going to have a BOY cousin so close to his age! I think they will have lots of fun together!
Max was pretty fussy all day… Ryan and I decided that he must be teething--he has been showing signs. He’s been drooling, coughing, and he’d been refusing to eat all of his formula a feeding times. He also has white nubs in the back of his mouth--they look like molars, which is weird, because the front teeth are supposed to come in first…
That evening, my mom and her husband came over. They’d left on a plane (on September 11th--they’re crazy!) to go on a cruise the week before and now they were back and brought us souvenirs. They brought Max a T-shirt that says “Parents for Sale: Buy One Get One Free!” It’s pretty cute. They brought Ryan and me a seashell wind chime. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Mann for everything!
Wednesday, September 22, was NOT a good day. I couldn’t do anything--Max was SO fussy and would NOT eat his food. He seemed happy after naps until I tried to feed him. I did everything I could for teething--I bought him teether toys, let him chew on a frozen wash cloth, let him chew on my knuckles, gave him a cold bottle (he does NOT like cold things in his mouth…), brushed his gums... Nothing worked and I was SO frustrated by the end of the day.
Working on a smile after nap time!
Smiles!!
Doing okay before a feeding!
My mom texted me in the morning on Thursday, September 23. She asked if I’d heard that Similac was recalling some of their formula. I hadn’t heard this so I got online to find out what was going on.
This is the statement issued at http://similac.com:
“Abbott is initiating a proactive, voluntary recall of certain Similac-brand, powder infant formulas in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and some countries in the Caribbean.
“Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review, which detected the remote possibility of the presence of a small common beetle in the product produced in one production area in a single manufacturing facility. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that while the formula containing these beetles poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume formula containing the beetles or their larvae, could experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat as a result of small insect parts irritating the GI tract. If these symptoms persist for more than a few days, a physician should be consulted.”
After spending half an hour on their website, I finally discovered that Max’s formula was indeed on the list of recalled formula. Max was hungry as soon as I got online, so by this time he was hysterical. Luckily we had some ready-to-feed liquid formula that had not been recalled that I was able to feed him right away. As soon as I fed him and got us both ready to go, we went to Wal-Mart and bought some liquid formula. Then we dropped off a drink for Ryan at his work and then we went to my dad’s house so my sister could cut my hair.
I was extremely upset about the recall. As you all know, Max is our first and only child. I’m really upset that they could let something like this slip by--how can we trust that something like this won’t happen again? And what if next time it’s something much worse--something that could kill him? It really sucks. Ryan and I do not want to continue purchasing Similac formula anymore. Discontinuing using Similac is going to be kind of difficult, but we have lost faith in them and their liquid formula costs us an extra $10 every six days. We know from experience that it is difficult on Max’s little tummy to switch formulas, too. And it’s true that because of this incident, they will probably be the best company to go with in the next few years because they will likely up their quality control, but we do not wish to continue doing business with them. So, we’ve switched to Costco’s Kirkland Signatures brand.
Another reason I’m pissed about Similac’s recall is that all they are doing to right the situation is to refund money for any containers of affected formula. A refund doesn’t make my baby feel any better and it doesn’t make me feel any better. And, their solution for “what to do if your formula is not on the shelf” is to buy their really expensive liquid formulas. How about a discount on their liquid formulas? It was their mistake. Why should I fork out an extra $10 every six days for a mistake they made?
Sitting on the couch at Grandpa Leonard's house!
Max and Daddy playing!
Thank you, by the way, to my sister, Brooke, for cutting my hair, and thank you to my Dad and Michelle for keeping an eye on Max while she cut it!
On Friday, September 24, Max rolled over his right shoulder five times in a row! I couldn’t believe it--this is the first time he has ever rolled to his right and he did it again and again and again!! Unfortunately, the blog is not letting me upload a video right now. Maybe I’ll try again later!
Snoozin'!
Max wrapped up like a burrito!
Max was on the liquid Similac formula all day Thursday and Friday. He did so good on Friday--he ate ALL of his food at every feeding and was a super happy, smiley baby! Which says to me that Max’s fussiness was coming from bugs in his formula, not from teething. Though I still think he’s teething as well…
Yesterday, on Saturday, September 25, Ryan and I took Max Christmas shopping! We went to Babies “R” Us and got him a couple shirts and then we went to Toys “R” Us and picked out a few toys. We still want to get him more, but we’ll go shopping again another day!
After lunch, we took Max home for a bit and then headed to Ryan’s Dad’s house so Max could see Grandpa and Grandma Nelson! We haven’t seen them for a while because they’ve been busy or sick for the past few weekends. It was good to see them, though! And they’re both so good with little Max. Ryan’s dad told us that he can tell Ryan loves being a dad--he can see it in his eyes. I know that made Ry feel really good about himself. He has a hard time not getting to see Max real often, because he works and has school and homework so much, so I think he really appreciated the reassurance from a third party.
While we were there, Ry’s little sister, Kaylee, was getting ready for Homecoming. She went with her boyfriend, Jayson. Here’s one of the pictures Ry got of them together!
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Max has been doing a lot of talking and fake crying lately. It’s been a lot of fun! He also seems to be working on laughing, which is pretty cute. But, this is all I’ve got time for today, so I’m going to sign off! Hope everyone has a great week!
