Vernon Volumes text

Vernon Volumes text

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Connor's three month pictures are up!

We took Connor to the photographer for his 3 month shots. These were the day after we switched him back to Enfamil, so we were worried he'd be scowling in all his pictures. He didn't really want his picture taken at first, and in picture 11 you can see what he thought of the whole operation when we were getting started. The photographer, Jennifer, does a great job getting babies to smile and by the end of the session Connor was cracking up and having a great time. We really think we got some priceless pictures.

Link to the photographers website: http://m-mphoto.com/









Sunday, June 24, 2007

Connor has very discerning taste

It's been a little while since we updated the Blog. It's because we decided to save a little money and ended up with a bit of a disaster. Connor's been eating Enfamil formula for a little while and it's fairly pricey at about $25 per can. He's been going through the cans pretty quickly and one of Shawn's friends said that the Target brand formula is exactly the same as the Enfamil. I've watched some shows on generic brand foods and have heard of instances where the store brand is exactly the same as a name brand, just without the fancy label. Case in point is the recent debacle Peter Pan peanut butter went through. They had a salmonella problem, and as a result so did Walmart's 'Great Value' peanut butter. It came from the same factory, it was the same thing, just in a different container. (Story about the recall)

Well, we assumed that maybe it was the same case with the generic Target stuff. We compared the nutrition labels, and everything was identical point for point. That, along with the glowing reviews from our friends, and the fact that it was half the price of the Enfamil convinced us to give it a try. Who wouldn't want to pay half the price for the same product? Well, upon opening the can it should have made us stop and think. The formula was much more powdery and had a yellowish tint instead of a white tint. Instead of thinking about the problems that may result from switching a baby's formula, I was thinking about how clever I was for saving so much money.

The next week was one of the most difficult we've had since Connor was born.

He had really gotten much calmer in the last few weeks and had been sleeping better. About a day after we switched formulas he started waking up in the middle of the night and throughout the day would be nearly always on the verge of throwing a fit. He was burping more, spitting up more, and passing gas often. You would think the cause might be obvious, but we hadn't really considered the formula change to be noteworthy since in our minds it was identical to what he'd been eating. Also, we were all exhausted from Connor's crying and weren't thinking about much besides trying to get through the days.

On Thursday (the 21st), as I was trying to console our shrieking baby, I connected the dots. We switched him back to Enfamil minutes later and he's been better ever since. Since we had already switched him, we decided to go with Enfamil's Gentlease LIPIL instead of the regular stuff. It's supposed to help with fussy babies, and since he's been on it, we've had much much more peace.

Oh, sweet Gentlease...



A few milestones recently. Connor's figured out how to roll from his back to his stomach. Since he was two weeks old he's been able to flip from his stomach to his back, but back to stomach is a bit harder.

Here he is, showing off for mommy:


Also, he really enjoys standing up if you'll help him. He really gets a kick out of it, and so do I:


One last note, Connor's left ear has always stuck out a little bit since he was born. It's not really that noticeable unless you look at him straight on. Most doctors in America seem to think that it's not worth messing with until the child is 5-6 years old. Also, most seem to think surgery is the only option. I looked into options and found a doctor in the UK that developed a kit that could potentially fix the ear without surgery. It's pretty much just a bit of material that shapes the ear and some tape to stick it to the side of the baby's head. It's a little bit visible in the picture above. Since the baby's cartilage is still soft and developing it's a good way to help mold the ear. It wasn't a major problem, but we thought it was worth trying to solve early if possible. Info on the kit: Ear Buddies

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Night with the Rudolphs

This last weekend Connor got to spend a lot of time with his cousins! Now that he's a big boy and three months old he's allowed to spend the night with Aunt Abby and Uncle Nate every once in a while. I had a talk with him before he spent the night and told him no hitting or biting or I'd drive out there and bring him home. He reasoned with me that he should still be allowed to bite since he doesn't have any teeth and I couldn't argue with his logic, but I stood firm on the 'no hitting' rule. The little guy's part Chinese and he's wicked quick with his kung fu chops.

Aunt Abby said he was a good baby and his cousins Drew and Allison both helped out a lot with him.

Here he is, looking sad that he has to go home with boring Mommy and Daddy:

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Does baby Connor look more like baby Andrea or baby Shawn??

Yesterday was Connor's 3 month birthday, so we thought it would be interesting to do a little comparison. Our parents got us some of our 3 month shots, and we thought we'd put them up next to some of Connor's 3 month shots to see who looks more like him.

Please leave a comment and let us know which of us Connor most resembles!

Connor at 3 months:



Andrea at 3 months:




Shawn at 3 months:

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Connor's first overnight visit

Connor decided to visit Grandpa Garry and Grammy Genie for his first overnight stay. He's been sleeping pretty well overnight so it's the first time Mommy and Daddy thought he wouldn't be a huge burden to babysit overnight.

We were surprised how much stuff a little baby takes for one night!

Grammy, Grandpa, and Connor with his overnight stuff:


He also decided to show off a little in his Bumbo Seat. It kind of forces him to sit upright and may be considered torture by some people, but he sure looks cute in it. His head gets heavy after a couple minutes so we don't force him to sit in it for too long.

Here's his first picture in it. I'm sure he'll have many more: